Sepsis occurs when the body's normal reaction to inflammation or a bacterial infection goes into overdrive. With sepsis, the bacteria create a toxin that causes a widespread inflammation of the body's organs and causes rapid changes in a person's body temperature, blood pressure, and dysfunction in the lung and other organs.
Babies under the age of 2 months are more susceptible to sepsis because their immune systems have not yet developed enough to fight off some serious infections. It is also more prevalent in people of all ages whose immune systems are compromised by chronic illnesses and conditions like HIV.
Premature babies receiving neonatal intensive care are particularly susceptible to sepsis because their immune systems are even more underdeveloped than other babies, and they typically undergo invasive procedures involving long-term intravenous (IV) lines, multiple catheters, and need to breathe through a tube attached to a ventilator. The incisions a young infant gets for catheters or other tubes can provide a path for bacteria, which normally live on the skin's surface, to get inside the baby's body and cause the infection.
In many cases of sepsis in new babies, bacteria enter the baby's body from the mother during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Some pregnancy complications that can increase the risk of sepsis for a newborn include:
bleeding
maternal fever
an infection in the uterus or placenta
premature rupture of the amniotic sac (before 37 weeks of gestation)
rupture of the amniotic sac very early in labor (18 hours or more before delivery)
a long, difficult delivery
Some bacteria - GBS in particular - can be acquired by the newborn as the child is being delivered. At least one out of every five pregnant women carries the bacterium for Group B streptococcus in her vagina or rectum, where it can be passed from mother to child during delivery.
Although there's no way to prevent all types of sepsis, some cases can be avoided, namely the transmission of Group B streptococcus bacteria from mother to child during childbirth. Pregnant women can have a simple swab test during the 35th and 37th weeks of pregnancy and again just before the birth to determine if they carry the GBS bacteria.
If a woman tests positive for GBS, she can receive intravenous antibiotics during labor.
Women are at higher risk of carrying GBS if they have a fever during labor, if the amniotic sac ruptures prematurely, if they have prolonged labor, or if they had other children with sepsis or other diseases triggered by GBS, such as pneumonia or meningitis. A woman with one of these risk factors can receive intravenous antibiotics to lower her risk of transmitting the bacteria to her child.
Immunizations routinely given to infants today include vaccinations against certain strains of pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae type b that can cause sepsis or occult bacteremia, an infection of the blood.
The mortality rate in neonatal sepsis may be as high as 50% for infants who are not treated. Infection is a major cause of fatality during the first month of life, contributing to 13-15% of all neonatal deaths. Neonatal meningitis, a serious morbidity of neonatal sepsis, occurs in 2-4 cases per 10,000 live births and significantly contributes to the mortality rate in neonatal sepsis; it is responsible for 4% of all neonatal deaths. In the preterm infant, inflammatory mediators associated with neonatal sepsis may contribute to brain injury and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes
2007-10-20 16:36:46
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answer #1
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answered by rosieC 7
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"Mortality/Morbidity: The mortality rate in neonatal sepsis may be as high as 50% for infants who are not treated. Infection is a major cause of fatality during the first month of life, contributing to 13-15% of all neonatal deaths. Neonatal meningitis, a serious morbidity of neonatal sepsis, occurs in 2-4 cases per 10,000 live births and significantly contributes to the mortality rate in neonatal sepsis; it is responsible for 4% of all neonatal deaths. In the preterm infant, inflammatory mediators associated with neonatal sepsis may contribute to brain injury and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes."
2007-10-20 16:36:06
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Depends on what caused the baby to be septic.How do you know the baby is going to be born septic ?
2007-10-20 16:34:17
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answer #4
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answered by Lisa 1
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