Septicemia

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Blood poisoning; Bacteremia with sepsis

• fever (sudden onset, often spiking)
• chills
• toxic looking (looks acutely ill)
• changes in mental state
  • irritable
  • lethargic
  • anxious
  • agitated
  • unresponsive
  • comatose
• shock
  • cold
  • clammy
  • pale
  • cyanotic (blue)
  • unresponsive
• skin signs associated with clotting abnormalities
  • petechiae
  • ecchymosis (often large, flat, purplish lesions that do not blanch when pressed)
  • gangrene (early changes in the extremities suggesting decreased or absent blood flow)
• decreased or no urine output

Physical examination may show:

• low blood pressure
• low body temperature or fever
• signs of associated disease (meningitis, epiglottitis, pneumonia, cellulitis, or others)

• blood culture
• urine culture
• CSF culture
• culture of any suspect skin lesion
• CBC
• platelet count
• clotting studies
  • PT
  • PTT
  • fibrinogen levels
• blood gas

Review Date: 10/27/2005
Reviewed By: Daniel Levy, M.D., Ph.D., Infectious Diseases, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.