(fundamental outlet for nursing students to review sepsis concepts)
SEPSIS
About
This website was created for nursing students, like myself to brush up on the concept of sepsis.
With my fourth semester coming to an end soon, I think it is important to go over widely pronounced disease/ conditions like sepsis that I may encounter in the hospital once I become a nurse. Sepsis is the leading cause of death in hospitalized patients (Sepsis Institute). In this website I will be going over what is sepsis, stages of sepsis, signs and symptoms and diagnostic and testing that also goes hand in hand with the concepts of health informatics.
What is Sepsis?
Sepsis is a life threatening response to infection when the body gets overwhelmed which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and even death. The greek term of "Sepsis" is to decay. Understanding sepsis is important because it begins in the community and then patients are hospitalized, and by then they are already in critical condition. In order to best increase patient outcomes, we as healthcare professionals must be educated on the topic and apply the best nursing interventions using critical judgment.
Sepsis: RISK FACTORS
People at risk for sepsis whether in the community or in the hospital are:
S: suppressed immune system
E: extreme age (elderly, neonates)
P: people who received an organ transplant
S: surgical procedure (anything invasive)
I: indwelling devices (cathether, pacemaker, central line)
S: sickness (chronic conditions: DM, hepatitis, renal insufficiency)
SEPSIS in Basic Terms:
This is a video by the National Institute of Health breaking down the concept of sepsis. Understanding sepsis is important because it begins in the community and then patients are hospitalized, and by then they are already in critical condition. In order to best increase patient outcomes, we as healthcare professionals must be educated on the topic and apply the best nursing interventions using critical judgment.