Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, matched fresh frozen sera (serum), plasma, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) bio-fluids from patients diagnosed with sepsis.
The sera (serum), plasma and PBMC biofluid specimens are processed from sepsis patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Fresh frozen tissue and matched biofluid samples are collected from unique patients diagnosed with sepsis.
Bio-samples are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, diagnostics, discovery and drug development.
Sepsis Overview
Sepsis is when your body (immune system) has an unusually severe response to an infection. This response can damage organs and become life threatening.
During sepsis, your immune system, which defends you from germs, releases a lot of chemicals into your bloodstream to fight an infection. This triggers widespread inflammation throughout the entire body that can lead to organ damage.
Clots reduce blood flow to your limbs and internal organs, so they don’t get the nutrients and oxygen they need.
In severe cases, sepsis causes a dangerous drop in blood pressure. Doctors call this “Septic shock.” It can quickly lead to organ failure, such as your lungs, kidneys, and liver. This can be deadly.
Sepsis may be a response to an infection that develops in the skin, lungs, urinary tract, or another part of the body.
Every year, sepsis affects around 1.7 million patients in the United States and causes nearly 270,000 deaths. Around 1 in 3 deaths in hospitals result from sepsis.
In the past, people used the term septicemia, but this led to confusion. Sepsis is a serious complication of septicemia. Experts now use the term sepsis instead.
Sepsis causes inflammation throughout the body. This inflammation can cause blood clots and block oxygen from reaching vital organs, resulting in organ failure.
When the inflammation occurs with extremely low blood pressure, it’s called septic shock. Septic shock is fatal in many cases.
Stages of Sepsis
Sepsis can happen while you are in the hospital recovering from a procedure, but this isn’t always the case. It’s important to seek immediate medical attention if you have any of the below symptoms. The earlier you seek treatment, the greater the chances of survival.
Following are the three stages of sepsis:
- Sepsis
- Severe sepsis
- Septic shock
Sepsis
Symptoms of sepsis include the following:
- A fever above 101ºF (38ºC) or a temperature below 96.8ºF (36ºC)
- Breathing rate higher than 20 breaths per minute
- Heart rate higher than 90 beats per minute
- Probable or confirmed infection
You must have two of the following symptoms before a doctor can diagnose sepsis.
Severe Sepsis
Severe sepsis occurs when there’s organ failure. You must have one or more of the following signs to be diagnosed with severe sepsis:
- Abnormal heart functions
- Breathing problems
- Chills due to fall in the body temperature
- Changes in mental ability
- Decreased urination
- Fatigue (extreme weakness)
- Patches of discolored skin
- Low platelet counts
- Unconsciousness
Septic Shock
Symptoms of septic shock include the symptoms of severe sepsis, plus a very low blood pressure (hypotension).
Septic shock is a life-threatening condition that happens when your blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level after an infection.
Any type of bacteria can cause the infection. Fungi such as candida and viruses can also be a cause, although this is rare.
At first the infection can lead to a reaction called sepsis. This begins with weakness, chills, and a rapid heart and breathing rate.
Left untreated, toxins produced by bacteria can damage the small blood vessels, causing them to leak fluid into the surrounding tissues.
This can affect your heart’s ability to pump blood to your organs, which lowers your blood pressure and means blood doesn’t reach vital organs, such as the brain and liver.
People with a weakened immune system have an increased risk of developing septic shock.
This includes:
- Newborn babies
- Elderly people
- Pregnant women
- Patients with long-term health conditions, such as diabetes, cirrhosis or kidney failure
- People with lowered immune systems, such as those with HIV or AIDS or those receiving chemotherapy.
Signs and Symptoms of Sepsis
Symptoms of sepsis may vary from person to person, but early signs and symptoms typically include the following:
- A rapid pulse, also known as (tachycardia)
- Difficulty breathing
- Extreme pain and discomfort
- Fever chills, and shivering
- Redness and swelling around a wound
- Sweaty skin
Symptoms of severe sepsis can also cause the following:
- A feeling of doom or sudden fear of death
- Cool, pale skin at the extremities
- Confusion, reduced alertness, and other changes in the person’s mental state
- Dizziness or faintness
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Skin that feels unusually warm or cold, as with a fever
- Slurred speech
- Shortness of breath
- Severe pain and extreme general discomfort
- Low blood pressure (hypotension)
- Loss of consciousness
- Low urine volume
- Pale, discolored, or mottled skin
- Vomiting
As sepsis progresses, septic shock can occur. This involves blood pressure falling dangerously low, meaning that oxygen can no longer reach the body’s organs.
Older adults and younger children have a particularly high risk of sepsis, and they are also more likely to experience a rapid worsening of sepsis symptoms. But the issue can be harder to spot in these age groups.
Symptoms can also be harder to identify in people with:
- Dementia
- Communication problems
- Learning difficulties
When a patient requests medical help, the healthcare provider needs to know about:
- Any symptoms
- Any recent infections, traumas, or surgical procedures
- Whether the person has a compromised immune system
- If the patient has diabetes or any other chronic condition
This may help speed up the diagnosis and allow for more rapid treatment.
Causes of Sepsis
The majority of cases of sepsis are due to bacterial infections. some are due to fungal infections, and few are due to other causes of infection or agents that may cause systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
The infectious agents, usually bacteria, begin infecting almost any organ from any location (community acquired or hospital acquired). It can also develop through implanted device, for example, skin, lung, gastrointestinal tract or a surgical site, intravenous catheter, etc.
The infecting agents or their toxins (or both) then spread directly or indirectly into the blood stream. This allows them to spread to almost to any other organ system. Criteria results as the body tries to counteract the damage done by these blood-borne agents.
Common bacterial causes of sepsis are gram-negative bacilli, for example E.coli, P. aeruginosa, H influenzae. Other bacteria causing sepsis include S.aureus etc,
However, there are large numbers of bacterial genera that have been known to cause sepsis. Candida species are some of the most frequent fungi that cause sepsis.
Any infection can trigger sepsis, but the following types of infections are more likely to cause sepsis:
According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the number of sepsis cases in the United States increases every year. Possible reasons for the increase include:
- An aging population, because sepsis is more common in seniors
- An increase in antibiotic resistance, which happens when an antibiotic loses its ability to resist or kill bacteria
- An increase in the number of people with illnesses that weaken their immune systems
- Bacterial infections
- Fungal infections
- Viral infections, including COVID-19
The pathogen may enter the body through a wound or during or after surgery.
Risk Factors of Sepsis
Sepsis can affect anyone with an infection, but the risk is higher for:
- Adults older than 65
- Babies under 1 year of age
- Patients with weakened immune systems
- People with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, HIV and cancer
- Patients being treated in an intensive care unit (ICU)
- People exposed to invasive devices, such as intravenous catheters or breathing tubes
Vulnerability to sepsis appears to be growing. One reason for this may be antibiotic resistance, a term that refers to microbes becoming immune to drugs that once controlled many infections.
Sepsis in older Adults
Older people have a higher risk of sepsis because they:
- Often have other conditions, such as diabetes
- Often have reduced immunity
- Have more frequent infections, especially those that can lead to sepsis
- Have a higher risk of malnutrition
Since our immune system weakens as we age, seniors can be at risk for sepsis. According to a research study people over the age of 65 made up nearly 70 percent of sepsis cases.
In addition, chronic illness, such as diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, high blood pressure (hypertension) and HIV, are commonly found with those who have sepsis.
The most common types of infections to cause sepsis in seniors are respiratory like pneumonia or genitourinary like a urinary tract infection.
Other infections can come with infected skin due to pressure sores or skin tearing. While these infections might not be noticed for a while, confusion or disorientation is a common symptom to look for when identifying an infection in seniors.
Sepsis often stems from a urinary tract infection or an infection of the respiratory tract, such as pneumonia or the flu. In 2020, COVID-19 emerged as a risk factor for sepsis, especially in older adults.
The early signs of sepsis may be harder to spot in older adults than in younger people, and the issue can progress more rapidly.
According to Sepsis Alliance, people aged over 65 years are 13 times more likely to spend time in the hospital with sepsis than those aged under 65. In addition, 63% of people aged 60 and over have sepsis on entering intensive care.
After an older person recovers from sepsis, they may have an increased risk of:
- A repeat infection
- Chronic pain
- Fatigue
- Organ damage
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD
Overall, it is crucial for older people and their loved ones to recognize the signs of sepsis, ensure prompt treatment for any type of infection, and take steps to prevent sepsis from developing.
Newborns and Sepsis
Sepsis can develop within 24 hours of birth, and in newborns, the issue is called neonatal sepsis. A baby is considered a neonate up to 90 days after delivery.
Neonatal sepsis is when your baby gets a blood infection within the first month of life. Neonatal sepsis is classified based on the timing of the infection, according to whether the infection was contracted during the birth process (early onset) or after birth (late onset).
This helps the doctor decide what kind of treatment to administer. Low birth weight and premature birth are more susceptible to late onset sepsis because their immune systems are immature. While symptoms can be subtle and nonspecific, some signs include:
- Abdominal swelling
- Apnea (temporary stopping of breathing)
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Jitteriness
- Listlessness
- Not breastfeeding well
- Low body temperature
- Pale color skin
- poor skin circulation with cool extremities
- Problems feeding
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (Jaundice)
Neonatal sepsis is still a leading cause of infant death, but with early diagnosis and treatment, the babies will recover completely and have no other problems. With maternal universal screening and proper neonatal testing, the risk of neonatal sepsis has decreased significantly.
There is a higher risk of neonatal sepsis if:
- A woman had a group B streptococcal infection during pregnancy.
- Delivery is preterm.
- The water breaks more than 24 hours before delivery.
Late-onset neonatal sepsis starts 24 hours or more after delivery. It can stem from a bacterial, viral, or fungal infections.
There is a higher risk of late-onset sepsis if the infant spends time in the hospital to receive treatment for another problem or comes into contact with someone who has an infection.
Diagnosis of Sepsis
If a patient have symptoms of sepsis, a doctor will order tests to make a diagnosis and determine the severity of the infection. One of the first tests performed is a blood test. The patients blood sample is checked for complications like:
- Abnormal liver or kidney function
- Infection
- Clotting problems
- Decreased amount of oxygen
- Electrolytes imbalance (deficiency of minerals in the body that affect the amount of water in your body as well as the acidity of your blood)
Depending on the symptoms and the results of the patients blood test, the doctor may order further tests, including:
- Urine test (to check for bacteria in your urine)
- Wound secretion test (to check an open wound for an infection)
- Mucus secretion test (to identify germs responsible for an infection)
For some reason If the doctor is unable to determine the source of an infection using the above tests, they may order an internal view of the patients body using one of the following tests:
- CT scans to view possible infections in the appendix, pancreas, or bowel area
- MRI scans, which can identify soft tissue infections
- X-rays to view the lungs
- Ultrasound to view infections in the gallbladder or ovaries
Septic Shock
To receive a diagnosis of septic shock, the patient must meet the criteria for sepsis and further present with low blood pressure and blood lactate levels of more than two millimoles per liter. Low blood pressure is often clinically referred to as hypotension.
Doctors may find sepsis and septic shock difficult to diagnose due to overlapping symptoms with other conditions, such as organ failure.
Following tests may help a doctor confirm sepsis and septic shock include:
- Blood cultures: A doctor will draw blood samples from two different sites in the body and test them for signs of infection.
- Urine tests: If the doctor suspects a urinary tract infection, they may ask for a urine sample to check for bacteria and infection.
- Wound secretions: The doctor might test a small liquid sample from a wound to help determine the best antibiotic for treatment.
- Respiratory secretions: If the patient is coughing up mucus, the doctor may test it to confirm what type of germ has caused the infection.
In most patients, the exact site of the infection will not be apparent. In these cases, a doctor can use imaging scans, such as X-rays, MRI scans, CT scans and ultrasounds to help identify infected areas of the body.
Criteria of Sepsis
There are two tools, or sets of criteria, doctors use to determine the severity of sepsis. One is the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). SIRS is defined when two or more of the following criteria is met:
- Abnormal white blood cell (WBC) count
- Fever of more than 100.4°F (38°C) or less than 96.8°F (36°C)
- Heart rate of more than 90 beats per minute
- Respiratory rate of more than 20 breaths per minute or arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) of less than 32 mm Hg
Another tool used is the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA). It utilizes the results of the following three criteria:
- Glasgow coma scale score of less than 15 (This scale is used to determine your level of consciousness.)
- High respiratory rate (greater than 22 breaths per minute)
- Low blood pressure (BP) reading
A positive qSOFA is determined if two or more of the above measurements are abnormal. Some doctors prefer using qSOFA because unlike the SIRS criteria, qSOFA doesn’t require laboratory tests. The results of either of the above assessments will help the doctor determine treatment.
Is Sepsis Contagious
You cannot “catch” sepsis from another person, since sepsis is not an infection; rather, it is the body’s extreme response to an infection. However, the underlying infection may be contagious. You can prevent sepsis by taking measures to protect yourself from infection that could lead to sepsis.
Prevention of Sepsis
Taking steps to prevent infections and receiving prompt treatment can reduce the risk of developing sepsis.
Taking steps to prevent the spread of infection can reduce your risk of developing sepsis. These include:
- Get vaccinated for the flu, pneumonia and other infections.
- Practicing good hygiene. This means practicing proper wound care,
- Handwashing
- Bathing regularly.
- Getting immediate care if you develop signs of infection. Every minute counts when it comes to sepsis treatment. The sooner you get treatment, the better the outcome.
Also, during the COVID-19 pandemic, wear a face mask in public and practice social distancing.
Treatment of Sepsis
Sepsis can quickly progress to septic shock and death if it’s left untreated. Research shows that rapid, effective sepsis treatment includes the following:
- Giving appropriate treatment, including antibiotics
- Maintaining blood flow to organs
- Painkillers to reduce pain
- Vasoactive medications to increase blood pressure
Recovery from Sepsis
Recovery from sepsis depends on the severity of the condition and any preexisting conditions the patient might have.
Many patients who develop sepsis survive and do recover completely. However, others report lasting effects.
Some studies suggest that it can take up to 18 months before survivors start to feel like their normal self. The Sepsis Alliance says that around 50 percent of sepsis survivors deal with post-sepsis syndrome (PSS). The alliance says this condition includes long-term effects such as:
- Damaged organs
- Disabling muscle and joint pains
- Fatigue
- Low cognitive function
- Nightmares
- Overall feeling of being unwell
- Unable to concentrate
Severe cases of sepsis and septic shock can lead to death.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens and human bio-fluid collections.
Samples available are cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma cancer PBMC and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own bio-repository, human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types.
Our biobank procures and stores fully consented, deidentified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.
All our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed samples associated patient’s clinical data.
This critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers and genetic information.
Patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.
Including fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, FFPE’s, tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC’s.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the researchers specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.
Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.
Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:
- Peripheral whole-blood,
- Amniotic fluid
- Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL)
- Sputum
- Pleural effusion
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
- Serum (sera)
- Plasma
- Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC’s)
- Saliva
- Buffy coat
- Urine
- Stool samples
- Aqueous humor
- Vitreous humor
- Kidney stones (renal calculi)
- Other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer.
We can also procure most human bio-specimens and can-do special collections and requests of human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB approved clinical protocols and procedures.
In addition to the standard processing protocols Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols, you can buy donor specific sample collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.
Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors, volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.
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