According to projections, 150,000 to 180,000 people fall ill with sepsis in Germany every year, and it claims around 60,000 victims per year. This means that sepsis is responsible for more deaths than heart attacks or lung, breast and colon cancer combined. Those who recognize sepsis early and survive often suffer from severe impairments, physical or mental limitations, depression or pathological weight loss for years to come.

Complicated interventions weaken the immune system

And there are more and more cases of sepsis with fatal outcomes. In an interview with BPI Pressedienst Arzneimittel, intensive care physician Prof. Dr. Konrad Reinhart from Jena University Hospital explains why this is the case, citing rising life expectancy and the increase in concomitant diseases such as diabetes or chronic bronchitis. The expert, who has been involved in the fight against sepsis for years, mentions another aspect for the increase in sepsis cases: More and more older people are undergoing increasingly complicated medical treatments, which then weaken the immune system to some extent: "And this weakening of the immune system then leads to people becoming more susceptible to infections and therefore also to sepsis."

Causes of blood poisoning: it starts with a harmless infection

The cause of blood poisoning is always an infection, for example pneumonia, a urinary tract infection or a skin infection. Under normal circumstances, the immune system can cope with such infections and they remain localized. However, if the patient is weakened, the pathogens can enter the circulation via the bloodstream, in rare cases also via the lymph vessels, and also infect other organs. The immune system launches a counterattack. In order to destroy the invaders, the white blood cells release masses of bacteria killers. The bacteria in turn release toxins and metabolic products into the blood. This cocktail destroys the blood vessels in the body.

Symptoms of blood poisoning: all organs gradually fail

Fluid then leaks into the body. This causes blood pressure to drop and blood clotting to go crazy. In order to get enough blood into the circulation, the heart pumps like crazy. But it cannot cope with the loss of fluid and the low blood pressure. The organs are no longer supplied with sufficient oxygen and one organ after the other fails, usually starting with the kidneys, intestines, liver and lungs. The person dies.

Treatment of blood poisoning: recognizing signs early

To prevent this, those affected must be treated as quickly as possible. The pathogens must be combated, the source of the disease surgically removed if possible and the blood circulation stabilized, to name but a few. Treatment usually begins with a broad-spectrum antibiotic. The problem is that many bacteria don't really care. The drugs no longer bother them, so the germs can spread unhindered. It takes a long time for doctors to find out from blood cultures which specific antibiotic might be effective. Time that patients do not have. A new test could speed up the search in future.

Sepsis is often not recognized in time

However, a lot of important time also often passes because sepsis is not recognized at all. This is especially true when someone falls ill at home - after all, around a third of those affected develop sepsis outside of hospital. The difficult thing is that the symptoms with which it announces itself can also be caused by many other illnesses. People who have a feverish infection and whose condition deteriorates sharply within a few hours should therefore be taken to hospital as soon as possible.

Many people are unaware of the signs of blood poisoning

While many people know how to recognize a heart attack, the signs of sepsis are unfortunately largely unknown - even among experts. According to Prof. Reinhart, the disease must play a greater role in the training of doctors and nursing staff. Typical symptoms, such as confusion, are too often misinterpreted.

We can also do something ourselves to reduce the risk to our own lives. "But you also need to know that you can be vaccinated against certain sepsis pathogens, for example against pneumococci, which cause pneumonia, or against pathogens that cause meningitis, or you can also be vaccinated against influenza, which doesn't turn into sepsis so rarely, and you should also get vaccinated," is Prof. Reinhart's advice.