The Link Between Bed Sores and Sepsis

Birmingham, Alabama

Sepsis and Bed Sores

Sepsis, septicemia or septic shock, as sepsis is also sometimes called, is a serious medical condition caused by infection filling your body with toxins that can eventually lead to death if not properly treated. Any infection including that related to preventable, untreated bed sores or decubitus ulcers can cause sepsis.

Why Nursing Home Residents Are at Risk

Some individuals such as the very young, the elderly or those with already compromised or weakened immune systems are at higher risk for developing sepsis. As such, nursing home residents may be at an even more increased risk because of a number of factors including:

• Open sores or wounds including bed sores and pressure ulcers are prone to infection if neglected and/or not cared for properly
• The presence of many sick or susceptible individuals in one place may lead to increased concentrations of bacteria
• Negligent sanitation contributes to a germ-rich environment
• Nursing home residents often have no choice but to remain in unsanitary conditions for long periods of time
• Negligent practices in handling residents, their food, medications and catheters, feeding tubes and/other medical equipment contribute to the spread of bacteria
• Some nursing homes fail to implement or follow an infectious disease control plan or protocol

How Does Sepsis Progress

Sepsis generally begins with an infection. This infection can begin anywhere in the body and can be caused by airborne bacteria or from bacteria entering the body through an open sore such as a bed sore or pressure ulcer or by bacteria entering the body through unsanitary medical equipment such as urinary catheters and feeding tubes.

Your body normally responds to an infection by triggering your immune system. Inflammation and fever are normal bodily responses to infection, but with sepsis, the chemicals that initiate the body's response flood the body and trigger an immune response not only in the area of the infection, but throughout the entire body. This entire body immune response can wreak havoc on the body and in fact causes many of the symptoms associated with sepsis. Common symptoms of sepsis include elevated heart rate, elevated white blood cell count, high fever, increased respiratory rate, hypotension or low blood pressure, stroke, vital organ failure, and if left untreated, death.

Sepsis Treatment

The first stage of sepsis treatment is to control the infection and to make certain that blood pressure remains normal. Such treatments are typically effected simultaneously through the use of intravenous antibiotics and other medications. Sores and abscesses may be drained of pus, and surgery may be necessary to remove the source of infection.

If sepsis progresses, you may receive corticosteroids and insulin, and you may have to be placed on a respirator to aid breathing or dialysis if the kidneys begin to fail. If your blood pressure remains low, you may receive vasopressors, which constrict your blood vessels and help to increase blood pressure.

A relatively new treatment for sepsis is activated protein C (aka Xigris), which can only be administered to people suffering from severe septic shock, in which organ failure has begun or is imminent. The drug interferes with your body's immune response, controlling inflammation. Xigris use can be quite dangerous as it can cause severe bleeding in the body.

Complications of Sepsis

Sepsis is generally classified as mild, severe, or septic shock. As the level of sepsis increases, so do the complications. Common complications of sepsis include:

• Gangrene
• Organ failure and shutdown
• Stroke and/or heart failure
• Death: Septic shock is fatal in as much as 60 % of cases

In addition, treatments for sepsis may cause complications that can be nearly as hard on the body as the sepsis itself. The best treatment for sepsis is prevention and for nursing home residents prevention lies in the hands of the nursing staff and caregivers in the nursing home.

What Can Be Done to Prevent Sepsis

If your family member or loved one is in a nursing home, especially one that is understaffed with too few caregivers and nurses to provide proper sanitation, care and treatment to its residents including preventing or minimizing bed sores, your family member may be at increased risk for developing sepsis and/or other life threatening medical conditions. The first step to preventing sepsis is to prevent conditions that can give rise to infection including bed sores. Check to make sure the nursing home has adequate staff to provide a sanitary environment and the care and treatment needed by its residents. You should also check to be certain that the nursing home has procedures in place for preventing bed sores and for preventing the spread of infection. Ask the administrator for a copy of the nursing home’s bed sore prevention plan and for its infectious disease control policy. The administrator should be willing to freely discuss these issues with you or your family member.

If your loved one has suffered from bed sores, sepsis or other injury or death as a result of negligent care and treatment in a nursing home, contact the experienced nursing home negligence lawyers at Burke, Harvey, & Frankowski, LLC for a free initial consultation.

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