WEST READING, PA — Tower Health has joined healthcare organizations around the world in recognizing “Pediatric Sepsis Week” from April 16 through 22. In the United States, 75,000 children are diagnosed with sepsis and 6,800 children die every year.
Sepsis is caused by a body’s overwhelming immune response to infection such as the flu, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and bloodstream infections. When a person is septic, the body releases immune chemicals into the blood to combat the infection. These chemicals can trigger widespread inflammation, which can impair organ function and lead to tissue damage, organ failure, or death.
Although groups most at-risk for sepsis include newborn babies, children, elderly, and people with chronic diseases and weakened immune systems, anyone can develop sepsis. According to James Reingold, MD, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Black and Hispanic children are also at higher risk of death from sepsis. Prevention of sepsis includes following a general hygiene plan, washing hands, and taking care of any open wounds.
Education about sepsis is important, because the condition is often curable if caught early and treated appropriately. “Knowing the warning signs of sepsis can save your child’s life,” Dr. Reingold says. In children, signs of sepsis are different than in adults and can include fever (of 100.4 or higher) or skin that is cold to the touch; high heart rate, even after a fever, bluish or very pale skin or a rash that does not fade when pressed on; rapid breathing; difficulty waking up; and decreased or absent urine output.
If your child has a fever and any of the above symptoms are present, contact your child’s primary care physician or bring them to the Emergency Department and say, “I am concerned about sepsis.”
“We take the threat of sepsis very seriously,” said Christopher Valente, MD, Chief, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Reading Hospital. “When a child presents to an emergency department within Tower Health and has symptoms that could indicate sepsis, we have automated screening process in place. Based on the results of that screen the clinical team works together to rapidly determine the specific treatment that child requires.”
Additional information can be found at sepsis.org/sepsisand/children.
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