The New Zealand Sepsis Trust is currently underway with a range of activities to mark global World Sepsis month in September, with its primary objective being to raise awareness of the signs and urgency of sepsis.
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition, killing approximately 11 million people worldwide each year including 4.2 million children. In Australia, sepsis kills more people each year than road traffic accidents. In the UK, five people die from sepsis every hour.
In New Zealand, it is estimated that over 15,000 people in the community will develop sepsis each year. All will require urgent treatment (most commonly, a broad spectrum antibiotic). Sadly, delays in recognition and diagnosis will result in one in five requiring intensive care admission, with amputations, significant organ damage and deaths most often resulting.
“It’s important that people know the signs of sepsis, and that they understand that it’s a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment,” says Sepsis NZ General Manager Michelle Crook.
If someone you know has an infection, or even the possibility of an infection – and they start to go downhill rapidly - then it’s critical that you call 111 or go to nearest urgent care or emergency department and ask “could it be sepsis”?
“By asking this question, everyone in the medical environment will immediately respond with the urgency that sepsis requires.”
No one is immune to developing sepsis and it remains a medical mystery as to why some people will develop sepsis and others won’t, says Michelle. Essentially, it can happen to anyone who has an infection, whether bacterial, viral, fungal, or caused by other germs (pathogens).
Sepsis is also indiscriminate in terms of someone’s age or state of health.
As an example, Michelle cites the story of a local farmer who went from being fit and healthy on a Thursday night, to being unwell on Friday, feeling like he’d been ‘hit by a train’ on Saturday, and finally being transported by ambulance to ICU on Sunday night. His stay in ICU was two months duration, his overall stay in hospital was four months, and during this time he lost his right leg and all of his fingertips and thumbs on his right hand.
Despite sepsis happening across the board, some people are at higher risk of infection and sepsis including infants, neonates, and children under 15 years of age, adults over 60 years of age, pregnant or recently pregnant women, Māori or Pacifika peoples, those who have had a previous sepsis event, immunocompromised people and those who have been recently discharged from hospital.
“The best thing that you can do right now is look at the signs of sepsis and make a note of them", suggests Michelle.
To mark World Sepsis month and raise awareness, the Sepsis Trust has a number of activities planned including a free medical webinar being delivered in conjunction with Health Hub, plus the release of new healthcare pathways it has developed with Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission over the past two years. It is also the Trust’s Annual Appeal month with a range of fundraising activities being promoted at www.stopsepsis.org.nz
BE A SEPSIS SUPERHERO
KNOW THE SIGNS - UNMASK SEPSIS - SAVE A LIFE
There is no single sign and no single diagnostic test for sepsis. Urgent medical help is needed for anyone with an infection or suspected infection and developing any of these signs:
Slurred speech or confusion, or difficult to wake
Extreme shivering or muscle pain
Passing no urine (pee/mimi) for a day
Severe breathlessness or breathing very fast
It feels like you are going to die
Skin mottled, bluish, or pale or feels abnormally cold to touch (especially in children)
