Globally, sepsis infection is the main cause Death of a childAccording to the Sepsis Alliance, it claims more than 3.4 million lives a year. 85% of these deaths occur before age 5.
Sepsis among children is a very difficult and elusive problem for doctors to diagnose and treat, with almost 10% of cases being overlooked in the emergency room.
When a child is hospitalized with an infectious disease, the average length of stay is more than one month, according to the sources above.
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Many people don’t know much about sepsis, according to Professor Elliot Long, a team leader in clinical science and emergency research at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia.
In sepsis, the immune system is abnormal Response to infection – Too enthusiastic or too minimal.
“The immune response may be inactive, leading to a severe, overwhelming infection, or it can be overactive and the immune response itself can cause damage to the body’s organs. This can be life-threatening.”
The professor, who received a $5 million national key research in-flynis initiative grant this year to test potential sepsis treatments in Australia and New Zealand, noted that sepsis is easily overlooked because parents don’t really understand how common or serious it is.
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Symptoms are often subtle – “And overlap with the same symptoms you get for self-limitation Viral infection That’s really common for kids,” Long said.
“The paradox is that late sepsis can be picked up very easily, but treatment is not very effective,” he added. “And that early stage sepsis is very difficult to pick up, but that’s when the treatment is most likely to be the most effective.”
Sepsis Alliance uses the acronym time To help people remember the main warning signs, such as:
t =Temperature: higher or lower than normal (fever or hypothermia)
I =Infection: Signs of infection (e.g. amputation, pneumonia, UTI)
m = Mental decline: confusion, sleepiness, It’s difficult to wake up Or excited
e = Very sick: severe pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, feeling that you might die
Other warning signs include shortness of breath, confusion, and Extreme painhypotension, fever, organ dysfunction, uneven or sweaty skin.
Early detection and treatment of sepsis, according to Long, is essential to prevent life-threatening complications that damage the kidneys, heart, liver, brain and other organs. Sometimes preventing this injury includes what appears to be overtreatment with antibiotics.
Treatment of sepsis is evolving and is an ongoing work. Currently, all treatments are supportive. That means that Treated with antibiotics The doctor will deal with the abnormal immune response and wait for normal function to return.
“These supportive treatments include simple things like receiving oxygen or liquids. If your child needs help with breathing, Oxygen level It’s either too low or your conscious state is compromised, so it’s placed on a ventilator,” Long said.
“We have a lot to do to try and try treatments that are not only a supportive treatment, but also help to improve outcomes in children with sepsis that will help correct their immune response.”
in spite of Children’s resiliencesepsis can have long-term effects. Long and his colleagues are looking for long-term issues regarding cognitive, emotional and motor skills.
“It affects not only the kids, but the parents, because they have very stressful life events,” Long said. “And that meant they had to contemplate the possibility that their children would die… so there’s a burden of this type of survival left for parents and families.”
Early sepsis is easy to overlook, so I’ve long emphasized how important it is to doctors Listen to your parents very well.
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“If my parents say this is a very abnormal reaction to infection, is this my child? Most sick “These are important red flags that they may be more than just a mild infection,” he said.
Long is the most common age for sepsis patients in Fox News Digital, and within that group, it is particularly common for children under the age of 1 year.
“Because they are often pre-verbal or unable to explain signs and symptoms, we rely on a lot of people on our parents to experience what they think is happening or what we observe with our children,” the doctor added.
“Martha’s Rules” is a universal principle that allows parents to advocate for sick children. This is especially important in sepsis, where young life can be easily lost.
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“So, if parents notice that their child is getting worse or worse over time, Martha’s rules will be introduced and bypasses local escalation procedures can be obtained. Independent opinion“Long said.”[This allows them to] If it deteriorates, it provides the right level of care to the child. ”
