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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffEarly, aggressive treatment boosts your chances of surviving sepsis. People with severe sepsis require close monitoring and treatment in a hospital intensive care unit. If you have severe sepsis or septic shock, lifesaving measures may be needed to stabilize breathing and heart function.
Medications
A number of different types of medications are used in treating sepsis. They include:
- Antibiotics. Treatment with antibiotics begins immediately — even before the infectious agent is identified. Initially you'll receive broad-spectrum antibiotics, which are effective against a variety of bacteria. The antibiotics are administered intravenously (IV). After learning the results of blood tests, your doctor may switch to a different antibiotic that's more appropriate against the particular bacteria causing the infection.
- Vasopressors. If your blood pressure remains too low even after receiving intravenous fluids, you may be given a vasopressor medication, which constricts blood vessels and helps to increase blood pressure.
- Others. Other medications you may receive include low doses of corticosteroids, insulin to help maintain stable blood sugar levels, drugs that modify the immune system responses, and painkillers or sedatives.
Therapy
People with severe sepsis usually receive supportive care including intravenous fluids and oxygen. Depending on your condition, you may need to have a machine help you breathe or dialysis for kidney failure.
Surgery
Surgery may be needed to remove sources of infection, such as:
- Medical devices
- Intravenous lines
- Drainage tubes
- Collections of pus (abscesses)
- Neviere R. Sepsis and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome: Definitions, epidemiology and prognosis. http://uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 27, 2009.
- Shapiro NI, et al. Sepsis syndromes. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/133981928-3/0/1365/424.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02845-4..50141-4--cesec18_7402. Accessed April 27, 2009.
- Enrione MA, et al. Sepsis, septic shock and systemic inflammatory response syndrome. In: Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/133981928-3/0/1608/514.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50178-X--cesec6_4006. Accessed April 27, 2009.
- Neviere R. Pathophysiology of sepsis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 27, 2009.
- Rivers EP, et al. Improving outcomes for severe sepsis and septic shock: Tools for Early identification of at-risk patients and treatment protocol implementation. Critical Care Clinics. 2008;23:S1.
- Chest X-ray. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=chestrad. Accessed April 29, 2009.
- CT: Body. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodyct. Accessed April 29, 2009.
- Abdominal ultrasound. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=abdominus. Accessed April 29, 2009.
- MRI of the spine. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=spinemr. Accessed April 29, 2009.
- Schmidt GA, et al. Management of severe sepsis and septic shock in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 29, 2009.
