septicemia

septicemia
septicemic, septicaemic, adj.
/sep'teuh see"mee euh/, n. Pathol.
the invasion and persistence of pathogenic bacteria in the blood-stream.
Also, septicaemia.
[1865-70; < NL; see SEPTIC, -EMIA]

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Invasion of the bloodstream, after surgery or infectious disease, by microorganisms
typically gram-negative (see gram stain) bacteria
and the toxins they release.

The latter trigger immune responses and widespread coagulation in blood vessels. High fever, chills, weakness, and sweating are followed by a drop in blood pressure. Multiple infections are often present, requiring broad-spectrum antibiotics as well as drainage of foci of infection. Without immediate treatment, septic shock follows, with a mortality rate over 50%. Invasive technology and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals have made septicemia more severe and more common. See also bacteremia.

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formerly called  blood poisoning 
 infection resulting from the presence of bacteria in the blood ( bacteremia). The onset of septicemia is signaled by a high fever, chills, weakness, and excessive sweating, followed by a decrease in blood pressure. The typical microorganisms that produce septicemia, usually gram-negative bacteria, release toxic products that trigger immune responses and widespread blood clotting ( coagulation) within the blood vessels, thus reducing the flow of blood to tissues and organs.

      The development of septicemia following surgery or after the patient has contracted an infectious disease indicates that the infectious process has escaped the control of the body's immune system and requires immediate medical intervention. Septicemia has increased in both severity and incidence, especially in hospitalized patients, because of both the more invasive technology employed and the increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the hospital environment.

      Septicemia often cannot be traced to a single microorganism but results from multiple infections, so that broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy may be required. If not treated promptly with appropriate antibiotics and surgical drainage of any detectable foci of infection, septicemia is followed by septic shock, in which the mortality rate exceeds 50 percent.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • septicemia — [sep΄tə sē′mē ə] n. [ModL septicemia: see SEPTIC & EMIA] a systemic disease caused by the presence of pathogenic microorganisms and their toxic products in the blood septicemic [sep΄tə sē′mik] adj …   English World dictionary

  • septicemia — 1866, Mod.L. septicæmia, from Fr. septicoemi, coined by Fr. physician Pierre Adolphe Piorry (1794 1879) in 1837 from Gk. septikos (see SEPTIC (Cf. septic)) + haima blood (see EMIA (Cf. emia)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • septicemia — s. f. [Medicina] Infecção geral devida à pululação no sangue de bactérias patogênicas …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • septicemia — sustantivo femenino 1. (no contable) Área: medicina Sepsis …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

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  • septicemia — {{#}}{{LM S35482}}{{〓}} {{SynS36368}} {{[}}septicemia{{]}} ‹sep·ti·ce·mia› {{《}}▍ s.f.{{》}} Proceso infeccioso grave producido por el paso de gérmenes patógenos a la sangre y su multiplicación en ella. {{★}}{{\}}ETIMOLOGÍA:{{/}} Del griego… …   Diccionario de uso del español actual con sinónimos y antónimos

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