Childhood Sepsis

Description

This session covers children aged 11 years and under. For children aged 12 years and over refer to the adult session. The session is aimed at all out of hospital clinicians, GPs, Nurses, Paramedics, Community Midwives and those providing urgent or unscheduled care.It will provide an introduction to key facts about childhood sepsis. It outlines the community presentations and key actions that influence outcomes.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe sepsis in the context of childhood
• Recognise the difference between infection, sepsis and septic shock
• Recall the prevalence of childhood sepsis
• Describe the physiological changes in children with sepsis
• Identify key features that should alert clinicians to the possibility of sepsis in a child with infection
• Recognise the urgency of treatment for children with a high risk of serious illness
• List the presentations, ranges of normal physiological signs, and outcomes at different ages
• Describe preventative strategies, including vaccination

Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition whose mortality and morbidity can be reduced by prompt identification and treatment.

Severe infection resulting in sepsis is recognised as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide (almost 60% of all deaths in children under five).