Outline of the Sepsis Toolkit The purpose of the sepsis toolkit is threefold: Support clinicians with knowledge and tools for sepsis identification, management, treatment, and escalation of care for adult and pediatric populations Reduce avoidable sepsis related morbidity, mortality, and costs Improve the quality and safety of care for patients with sepsis The sections of […]
Making a Sepsis Diagnosis A physician must run several of the following tests in order to make a definitive sepsis diagnosis. Testing for an infection: Can include urine tests (for example testing for a UTI) and blood cultures to look for any signs of bacteria. These are often considered the most definitive tests when diagnosing […]
Angus, D. C., et al. “Epidemiology of Severe Sepsis in the United States: Analysis of Incidence, Outcome, and Associated Costs of Care.” Critical Care Medicine 29.7 (2001): 1303-10. Annane, Djillali. “Corticosteroids for Severe Sepsis: An Evidence-Based Guide for Physicians.” Annals of Intensive Care 1.1 (2011): 1-7. Avni, T., et al. “Vasopressors for the Treatment of […]
IT WAS A Monday, and Stacy Kennedy felt a wave of discomfort take over her body. She leaned against the wall to compose herself, and decided to take her laptop home that night so she could work from home the next day. She didn’t get any work done though. For the next few days she laid […]
~As told by her daughter, Marisa Hrvatin MARIA ENTERED THE hospital on October 23 for a routine surgery. She had a potentially cancerous polyp on her colon which needed to be removed. She was 81-years-old, so she was a little nervous about having surgery, but knew it had to be done. The surgery went well, and […]
LISA CAME DOWN with what she initially thought was the flu. After a few days when her symptoms weren’t improving, she called her doctor’s office. The receptionist wouldn’t giver her an appointment, saying it was flu season and this was almost definitely what she had. Over the next few days, Lisa symptoms got worse. She was […]
~As told by his wife, Dawn Barr ON JUNE 15, 2010, Peter’s dog nipped his finger. The wound was so small that he put some peroxide on and forgot about it. That night he had the chills, but didn’t think much of it—Peter worked outside so he often got a touch of heat stroke from […]
~As told by his father, Ken Kennedy DUNCAN KENNEDY HAD been fighting a pesky cough for over a year. He went to see a doctor several times, but was repeatedly told it was just a virus. Eventually he was told that he should get a chest x-ray, but Duncan was in the process of moving […]