Sepsis or septicemia is a serious syndrome, and one of the leading causes of death in the world. In most cases, it arises as a complication of serious diseases such as cancer, or an infection or injury. Sepsis is the leading cause of death in hospitalized patients, and a secondary cause of mortality from the new coronavirus.
Sepsis is defined as a multi-organ failure that can lead to death ; It occurs when the immune system directs an abnormal response to an infection. In fact, sepsis is the most common cause of death in hospitalized people. As it occurs as a complication of other diseases, the primary disease is often considered the cause of death, ignoring sepsis: therefore, it is known as ‘silent death’.
In 2014, researchers Clifford S. Deutschman and Kevin J. Tracey published a study in which they highlighted this problem in terms of sepsis: since this clinical syndrome is overshadowed by the initial disease, these researchers appeal to the need for more clinical approaches for the effective treatment of sepsis. Moreover, there are no specific drugs to treat it: ” The treatment for sepsis is nonspecific , and mainly limited to recovering the normal function of the organ and the administration of intravenous antibiotics and oxygen,” the researchers recognize in the report.
Furthermore, there is no typical patient with sepsis; It strikes across age groups, geography, or health status. According to the National Library of Health of the United States, 18 million people in the world suffer from sepsis, but it is difficult to determine exactly their mortality. Just as it is a cause of death that is ‘hidden’ under other diseases , the number of variables that influence whether a patient survives or succumbs to sepsis is unknown. Despite this, scientists estimate that it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.
40% of sepsis cases occur during sterile tissue injury arising from non-infectious sources such as pancreatitis, ischemia-reperfusion injury, cancer, and other disorders. The rest occur in patients with disabilities, infections, or injuries. Rarely are there patients with a case of sepsis not associated with other pathologies.
Current immunological mechanisms do not explain the basis for cell dysfunction and organ failure , which are the last cause of death. “Therefore, determining these molecular mechanisms promises to offer future therapies based on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of failed homeostasis and how they characterize sepsis,” the report concludes.
