Would A CBC Have Helped?

[BookGoddess]

I just found out that a former coworker's husband passed away from sepsis and organ failure. He was in his 50s and otherwise in good health without any chronic conditions.
He had a chronic hemmrhoid problem for a long time. When it flared up again, he thought nothing much of it. It was yet another flare up in his opinion. By the time he went to see a doctor at his wife's urging, he still didn't think anything was seriously wrong. The doctor discovered the infection had spread to his scrotum. Wouldn't my friend's husband have known that? Anyway, the doctor admitted him to the hospital right away. He soon developed sepsis. Antibiotics didn't help. He was sedated then put on a ventilator. His organs shut down and he passed away. It's all very sad. It all happened so fast.

I was wondering if there was a way to discover an internal infection ...maybe with a CBC with differential blood test? Or some other blood test?

[KimPM]

This gives tests that show sepsis:
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Sepsis

[BookGoddess]

Thank you. I think it suggests that a CBC with differential would be useful for detecting sepsis.

[katelove]

Originally Posted by BookGoddess

The doctor discovered the infection had spread to his scrotum. Wouldn't my friend's husband have known that?

Possibly he knew and still chose not to act on it immediately but it would be possible for an infection to begin spreading without the person being aware of it straight away

Originally Posted by BookGoddess

I was wondering if there was a way to discover an internal infection ...maybe with a CBC with differential blood test? Or some other blood test?

Is the implication of your question that he did not have a CBC in hospital???? It would only have confirmed the diagnosis really but it should still have been done as part of the basic initial assessment. Sepsis is usually diagnosed based on symptoms and history then confirmed with tests. The source of the infection may also be identified by tests if it is unclear initially. However, treatment should never be delayed while waiting for test results as sepsis can progress very quickly as in your friend's case.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

[BookGoddess]

I was wondering if there was a way to detect it before the infection had spread throughout his body. And I was asking so I would know for future reference to ask for such tests if I suspected such a thing. I tend to be a bit of a worry wart.

[katelove]

Originally Posted by BookGoddess

I was wondering if there was a way to detect it before the infection had spread throughout his body. And I was asking so I would know for future reference to ask for such tests if I suspected such a thing. I tend to be a bit of a worry wart.

In most cases your white blood cells will be elevated with a localised infection but again symptoms and history would be more important in determining what type of treatment is needed.

Generally what we will do is make an "educated guess" about what organism is most likely to be the infectious agent. We know, for example, which bacteria *usually* cause UTIs. In your friend's case, he should have been treated for an infection involving bowel flora including e coli. We will then treat with the antibiotics most likely to be effective against those organisms.

Before starting the ABs we will do cultures. It takes a few days to get the results as it involves growing the organisms and testing them to see what ABs they're sensitive too. The treatment can then be changed, if necessary. But, again, treatment should never be delayed while waiting on culture results.

What is cultured depends once again on patient history. If they have an obviously infected wound then wound swabs, a cough - sputum cultures etc. If it is a sepsis with an unknown focus then we will culture everything - sputum, urine, blood and any wounds/inserted medical devices etc.

This is all assuming that the sepsis is bacterial too (which is the most common by far). If a viral or fungal sepsis was suspected then culturing for those would have to be specifically requested.

I think the most important thing is to seek treatment early as it is *much* easier to effectively treat a local infection than sepsis.

[BookGoddess]

Thanks. That's helpful.

I didn't realize there was also viral and fungal sepsis. Are those as destructive to the body as bacterial sepsis?

[katelove]

Originally Posted by BookGoddess

Thanks. That's helpful.

I didn't realize there was also viral and fungal sepsis. Are those as destructive to the body as bacterial sepsis?

My pleasure.

Viral and fungal sepsis tend to be worse as we don't have treatments which are as effective as ABs are against bacteria. They are rare though and tend to occur in people who have other health issues.