SEPTICEMIA

also called Blood Poisoning, serious infection of the bloodstream combining bacteremia (the presence of bacteria in the blood) and toxemia (the presence of circulating toxins). Septicemia's onset 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 blood clotting; these in turn cause widespread coagulation within the blood vessels and reduce the flow of blood to tissues and organs, thus producing the acute symptoms. 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. Pyemia is a type of septicemia in which infectious microorganisms circulating in the bloodstream lodge in the mucosa of the body, causing internal abscesses and the formation of pus. 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 to prevent septic shock and possible death. 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.