Sepsis in Nursing Homes
When an infection leads to inflammation of the entire body, the condition is called sepsis. Also known as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis can be deadly. About 750,000 cases of severe sepsis are diagnosed in the U.S. each year and more than 200,000 are fatal.
Older adults, people in hospitals and nursing homes, surgical patients and those with compromised immune systems — such as those on chemotherapy — are at increased risk for contracting sepsis.
The most common cause of sepsis is bacterial infections. Bacteria can get into the body through an open wound, inflamed skin, IVs or urinary catheters. Sepsis can also be caused by fungal, parasitic or viral infections. Sepsis can develop from pneumonia, urinary tract infections, skin infections like cellulitis, and infections such as appendicitis, peritonitis and meningitis.
In nursing homes, patients with bedsores are at risk of developing sepsis.
Sepsis symptoms include redness, swelling, pain, fever, and organ dysfunction or organ failure. Sepsis causes blood clotting that reduces the flow of blood to limbs, which, in turn, leads to organ failure or gangrene. According to the National Institutes of Health and National Library of Medicine, the most common signs of sepsis are:
- Decreased urine output
- Fast heart rate
- Fever
- Hypothermia (very low body temperature)
- Shaking
- Chills
- Warm skin or a skin rash
- Confusion or delirium
- Hyperventilation (rapid breathing)
If your loved one developed sepsis because of nursing home negligence, please contact an attorney at Dansky | Katz | Ringold | York to arrange a free initial consultation and case evaluation. Nursing homes that fail to adequately staff their facilities put residents at risk of bedsores and other infections that can lead to sepsis.
Our nursing home negligence attorneys represent clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including the South Jersey and Philadelphia areas.
