Septicemia , sometimes called sepsis or blood poisoning, is a disease caused by infectious bacteria or fungi in the bloodstream. The disease is far more commonly caused by bacteria than by fungi. In some cases, an infection or abscess (collection of pus) in the body discharges the organisms into the blood. In other cases, the organisms enter the bloodstream through contaminated needles or other improperly sterilized instruments. Septicemia can also result from an injury in which a sharp object breaks the skin, allowing germs into the bloodstream.
The symptoms of septicemia include chills, fever, and weakness. In some cases, the blood fails to clot normally, causing a rash or bleeding. Septicemia also can lead to such complications as brain abscess and endocarditis (infection of the lining or valves of the heart). Brain abscess can produce fatal pressure on the brain. Endocarditis can cause heart failure.
Septicemia may progress to a dangerous condition called septic shock. Patients experience a drop in blood pressure, a fever or hypothermia (decrease in body temperature), and confusion and other changes in mental state. Septic shock is a medical emergency.
Septicemia can be extremely dangerous. But most patients recover completely if they quickly receive proper treatment. Doctors must first identify the infecting organism. They must also determine whether the patient has a center of infection that produced it. Such an infected area is treated with antibiotics or drained surgically. Septicemia itself is treated by injecting large doses of antibiotics into the bloodstream.
