sepsis

noun

sep·​sis ˈsep-səs 

plural sepses ˈsep-ˌsēz 

: a potentially life-threatening, systemic response of the immune system that results from the spread of pathogenic agents (such as bacteria or viruses) and their toxins to the bloodstream from a localized infection (as of the lungs), that involves both inflammatory and immunosuppressive activity, that is marked especially by fever, chills, rapid heart rate and breathing, fatigue, confusion, increased blood coagulation, hypotension, impaired microcirculation, and organ dysfunction, and that may progress to septic shock

Note: The primary cause of sepsis is pneumonia with secondary causes commonly including infections of the abdominal cavity and urinary tract.

compare septicemia

Examples of sepsis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The siblings of a 15-year-old Missouri boy who died two years ago have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging his foster family allowed an ear infection to go untreated, leading to his death from sepsis. —Samantha Latson, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024

She was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs and also had sepsis, a potentially deadly condition caused by the body’s response to an infection that can lead to tissue damage and organ failure. —Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024

Bottlenose dolphins, increasingly found stranded in San Diego, are believed to have died from sepsis caused by a bacteria sometimes found in contaminated water. —Lauren Fichten, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024

Symptoms of sepsis include heavy breathing, fever, fast heart rate, and chills. —Alexa Mikhail, Fortune Well, 19 Jan. 2024

Even with surgery and treatment for the infection, the CDC says that up to 1 in 5 people die from the disease which can cause organ failure and sepsis. —EW.com, 9 Jan. 2024

Septic shock is a progression of sepsis, in which the body’s infection-fighting processes turn on itself, causing the organs to work poorly, according to the Mayo Clinic. —Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024

Her mother died of sepsis in August 2014, while recovering from surgery to treat bone marrow cancer. —Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024

David Beckwith, a longtime publicist known for representing Elvis Presley’s Graceland Museum, died Jan. 19 after experiencing sepsis following a hip replacement surgery. —Jaden Thompson, Variety, 24 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek sēpsis decay, from sēpein to putrefy

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

sepsis

noun

sep·​sis ˈsep-səs 

plural sepses ˈsep-ˌsēz 

: a potentially life-threatening, systemic response of the immune system that results from the spread of pathogenic agents (as bacteria or viruses) and their toxins to the bloodstream from a localized infection (as of the lungs), that involves both inflammatory and immunosuppressive activity, and that is marked especially by fever, chills, rapid heart rate and breathing, fatigue, confusion, increased blood coagulation, hypotension, impaired microcirculation, and organ dysfunction, and that may progress to septic shock

Note: The primary cause of sepsis is pneumonia with secondary causes commonly including infections of the abdominal cavity and urinary tract.

compare multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, septicemia