Sepsis is a pattern of disease where germs infiltrate the bloodstream to cause an infection. The evidence of infection has to be provided microbiologically to be able to diagnose a sepsis.
One can generally differentiate between:
Blood Stream Infection
Sepsis
Septicopyaemia
SIRS
Additionally, one can differentiate between the origin and type of the Sepsis:
Urosepsis (e.g. after urological interventions)
Foreign-Body-Sepsis (e.g. through a venous catheter)
Sepsis due to wound infection
Sepsis due to bone marrow failure
Cholangiosepsis (e.g. after ERCP)
Tonsillogenic sepsis
Sepsis due to Endocarditis
A sepsis arises by pathogenic germs, or rather their toxines, infiltrating the bloodstream. Normally the body`s immune system is able to prevent this life-threatening dysfunction, so that usually there has to be a specific combination of sepsis-enabling factors, such as:
dysfunctional immune defence
severe infection with a high number of germs
increased pathogenicity of the germs
infection of a difficultly confinable body area (e.g. abdomen)
Mostly responsible bacteria for a sepsis (sorted according to frequency):
Staphylococcus aureus
Escherichia coli
Bacteria of the types Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Serratia
Pseudomonia species
Streptococcus viridans, Streptococcus faecalis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae
(Graph translated and modified from an original by Mrug)