8/6/08

Who is at Risk for Sepsis?

      Everyone  is at risk for developing sepsis from minor infections infections such as the flu, urinary tract infections or gastroenteritis. Severe sepsis killed Muppets creator Jim Henson, who had been hospitalized with pneumonia and took the life of Christopher Reeves, who was being treated for pressure sores on the skin.
      Sepsis is most likely to develop in people who:
    *   Are very young ( particularly premature babies )
    *   Are very old
    *   Have a weakened immune system because of chemotherapy  
           treatments, AIDS, organ transplants, etc.
    *   Have wounds or injuries, such as those from burns, bullets,
           pressure sores, etc.  
    *   Have addictive habits such as alcohol or drug abuse
    *   Are receiving treatments via intravenous catheters, wound
           drainage, urinary catheters, etc.

* Info from Medical College of Wisconsin - HealthLink

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            7/17/08

About Sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening illness. Sepsis is a condition in which your body is fighting a severe infection. Bacterial infections are the most common cause of sepsis. Sepsis can also be caused by fungal, parasitic, or viral infections. The source of the infection can be any of a number of places throughout the body. Meningitis may also be accompanied by sepsis. In children, sepsis may accompany infection of the bone (osteomyelitis). The infection is often confirmed by a positive blood culture, though blood cultures may be negative in individuals who have been receiving antibiotics. In sepsis, blood pressure drops, resulting in shock. Major organs and systems, including the kidneys, liver, lungs, and central nervous system, stop functioning normally. It is a major cause of death in intensive care units (ICU) worldwide. About 750,000 people in the United States get severe sepsis each year, and more than 200,000 people die from it. Symptoms of sepsis are often related to the underlying infectious process. When the infection crosses into sepsis, the resulting symptoms are that of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) general inflammation, fever, elevated white blood cell count (leukocytosis), and raised heart rate (tachycardia) and breathing rate (tachypnea). Secondary to the above, symptoms also include flu like chill. Neonatal sepsis affects a small percentage of newborns, particularly low-birth-weight and premature infants. Black people are more likely than are white people to get sepsis, and black men face the highest risk. Sepsis is usually treated in a hospital intensive care unit. Aggressive treatment boosts your chances of surviving sepsis. People with severe sepsis require close monitoring and treatment in a hospital intensive care unit. IV antibiotics and fluids may be given to try to knock out the infection and to keep blood pressure from dropping too low. Supportive therapy with oxygen, intravenous fluids, and medications that increase blood pressure may be required for a good outcome. Immunizations routinely given to infants today include vaccinations against certain strains of pneumococcus and haemophilus influenzae type B that can cause sepsis or occult bacteremia, an infection of the blood. Steroids have also been recently shown to be valuable in patients with septic shock.

Recommended Sepsis Treatment and Prevention Tips by Juliet Cohen:

1. Treatment with antibiotics begins immediately.
2. Surgical drainage of infected fluid collections also useful.
3. Fluid replacement and appropriate support for organ dysfunction.
4. Other medications include low doses of corticosteroids treat sepsis. 
5.  Insulin to help maintain stable blood sugar levels, and painkillers or sedatives.

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            5/7/08

sepsis fishing tournament

My daughter Jennifer will hold the annual Memorial Erin Kay Flatley Fishing/fund raising event on Saturday, May 10th in Clearwater Fl. to honor her sister and add support to SA and add significance to her sisters young life. Jennifer has raised 10's of thousands of dollars and created awareness in the Tampa Bay area that has in fact saved lives because of the education and awareness provided. We have received feed back to validate this!

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            3/24/08

The numbers are staggering!

Someone dies of sepsis every 2 and a half minutes: THATS: 25 per hour 589 per day 4123 people per week, and that is just in the US. Amazingly, few people know about it!

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            2/22/08

New site.

As the Founder and Chairman, I'm excited about the growth of SA and what we are going to accomplish! I am solely responsible for the content on these pages. I'm neither a physician or sepsis expert, but I now know people who are very knowledgeable and competant in this area. I lost a beautiful, healthy, 23 year old daughter unnecessarily, because of my ignorance and that of her attending health professionals I survived sepsis myself 2 years after my daughters' death because of what I had learned. My personal goal is to educate as many people as possible and at least start an organization in my life time that will be on going and the premier site about this deadly syndrome that is only going to increase in incidence in decades to come. SA's mission is to promote early detection, sound management and find ultimately a cure which I know we can accomplish with the type of collaborative partners/programs that we are assembling and the financial support from the private and public sector we hope to raise.. We do  need your financial support. We have a steamlined staff to reduce expenses and keep admin cost to a minimum so your dollars go directly to the problem. Erin's Foundation has been the major supporter for the SA for the past 5 years, but we need additional support. Thank you in advance for your donation.

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