Dr Anirban Chattopadhyay, Critical Care specialist, CK Birla Hospital, CMRI shed light on the role of healthcare provider in Sepsis prevention
A life-threatening medical condition, Sepsis, is a major health threat globally, affecting millions of people every year with critical illness which can also lead to death. Acorrding to survey, there was around 48.9 million sepsis cases worldwide in 2017, leading to the death of 11 million patients. India witnessed 11.3 million cases of sepsis in 2017, which included 2.9 million sepsis-related deaths. However, despite the high mortality rate, people have a very poor understanding of the epidemiology of sepsis.
Understanding Sepsis
Sepsis is a syndrome of organ dysfunction, caused mostly by an individual’s dysregulated response to infection, which can gradually become life-threatening. In sepsis, individual’s body has an extreme response to an infection and the body’s reaction causes damage to its own tissues and organs, which can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and in extreme situations death. Even the survivors of sepsis experience long-term physical, psychologic, and cognitive impairments, known as postsepsis syndrome, which can lead to degraded health condition and loss in productivity.
While anyone can be affected by sepsis, those at higher risk of getting include elderly people, very young individuals, pregnant women or those having health problems for a long time. Some of the basic indicators of sepsis can be fever, fast heart rate, rapid breathing, confusion and body pain. It can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death. Early signs of sepsis in children may include fast breathing, convulsions, pale skin, lethargy and difficulty waking up.
Bacterial infections are the most common cause of sepsis, but the disease can also result due to other infections such as viruses, parasites or fungi. To recover from sepsis, one should get a thorough healthcare, which involves the use of antimicrobials, intravenous fluids and other measures.
Sepsis can also be a common adverse event in healthcare, affecting millions of patients annually. It’s caused by pathogens resistant to drugs, resulting into deteriorating conditions. Antimicrobial resistance is a major factor in clinical unresponsiveness to treatment and rapid progression to sepsis and septic shock. Sepsis patients with resistant pathogens have a significantly higher chances of hospital mortality.
Role of healthcare provider in Sepsis prevention
While having awareness on infection prevention that can lead to sepsis is everyone’s responsibility, the role of healthcare providers is to make sure that safe and effective infection prevention and control practices are at place and evidence-based best practice guidelines are implemented. One of the key responsibilities of the healthcare providers is to strictly follow infection prevention and control measures while providing care.
Healthcare providers should keep drafting strategies to educate and support all patients and their visitors on infection prevention and control practices and ways to stay safe from healthcare-associated infection. At the same time, healthcare providers should also keep themselves updated on the knowledge and skills to prevent and control infections.
With an effective infection prevention and control strategy at place, healthcare providers can identify, analyse, assess, and manage any potential risks and ensure the safety of the patients, the healthcare team and keep the overall healthcare environment safe and healthy. Standards, guidelines, and best practices related to infection prevention should be followed by both regulated and unregulated healthcare providers.
Best practices to reduce infections
Though sepsis is commonly a life-threatening medical condition it can be prevented by taking early measures and by maintaining good hygiene at home and healthcare spaces. One of the best ways to stay safe from the risks of sepsis is by keeping safeguarded from infection, by primarily maintaining a healthy personal hygiene like washing hands and preparing food safely. To keep themselves safe, individuals should avoid using unclean water or unsanitary toilets.
Medical experts also suggest taking vaccines recommended by local health officials. Also, certain basics like eating healthy, and maintaining hygiene while breastfeeding newborns can be crucial to prevent infections. Also, there should be comprehensive rules for infection prevention and control at hospitals and clinics and the medical personnel should use antibiotic appropriately to threats of infection.
To conclude
Sepsis is one of the major medical threats affecting the lives of several people worldwide. Yet, the understanding and awareness on the public health challenge among the common populous is still at a nascent stage. It is important to note that by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and following best practices, an individual can keep safe from infections which can lead to sepsis.