Bacteremia is the presence of bacteria in the blood, which can be transient or sustained. Sepsis is the body’s immune response to prolonged bacteremia, characterized by inflammation and potentially fatal symptoms. Sepsis can progress to severe sepsis or septic shock, which can lead to organ failure and death.
Although bacteremia and sepsis are closely related, they are two separate conditions. The mere presence of bacteria in the blood is known as bacteraemia. It can be transient, when small amounts of bacteria are in the blood for a limited time, or it can be sustained, when bacteria persist and multiply in the bloodstream. The prolonged form of bacteremia is usually what leads to sepsis, which is the body’s immune response to the presence of the bacteria. This potentially fatal condition, sometimes referred to as blood poisoning, involves a whole-body inflammatory response and is characterized by an increase in body temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate and, in its severe form, can lead to organ failure, extremely low blood pressure, or septic shock.
Bacteraemia and sepsis don’t necessarily both occur just because the bacteria are introduced into the bloodstream. In cases where only a small amount of bacteria enters the blood, such as when bacteria in the mouth enters through the gums, the body can easily eliminate it without adverse results. These transient cases of bacteremia typically don’t even cause symptoms.
When a person has large amounts of bacteria in their blood, or is in a situation where bacteria continues to be introduced over a period of time, they will often develop sustained bacteraemia and sepsis is likely to follow. One situation where this could occur is when a person has surgery in an area such as the intestine where large amounts of bacteria are present and the incision allows them to move into their bloodstream. Once sepsis sets in, the person will typically experience systemic inflammatory response syndrome, or SIRS, a condition in which inflammation is present throughout the body, causing increases in body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate. as well as a significant increase in white blood cells.
In severe cases, or if treatment is not given promptly, bacteremia and sepsis can progress to severe sepsis or even septic shock. Patients with severe sepsis may experience organ failure such as the lungs, kidneys, or heart. They may develop hypotension or extremely low blood pressure and hypoperfusion, or decreased blood flow to organs. If these conditions progress to the point that fluid resuscitation does not relieve hypotension, the patient may be considered to be in septic shock, which is extremely dangerous and often fatal.
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