Nursing home residents are vulnerable to all kinds of infections, both viral and bacterial. One potentially deadly type of infection is sepsis. At least one study suggests that nursing homes screening for sepsis can do more to prevent serious and potentially fatal sepsis infections. Bacteria that enter the bloodstream can cause sepsis. The earlier nursing homes recognize the signs of a bacterial infection, the sooner a Louisville nursing home resident in Kentucky can get treatment, and the more likely it is that the resident will survive the infection.
Study Finds Nursing Homes Screening for Sepsis Can Do More
In 2018, researchers published an article in The Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine describing simple screening tools that could help nursing home staff identify residents at risk of becoming septic. Researchers looked at nursing home documentation of vital signs, changes in mental status, and medical provider visits 0-12 hours and 13-72 hours before a resident’s hospitalization and found that at least one critical vital sign was missing in one-quarter to one-third of resident records. They concluded that nursing homes screening for sepsis need to do a better job of monitoring residents whose health status is changing so that information can be provided to medical professionals.Possible Symptoms of Sepsis
Symptoms that could alert nursing home staff to a possible case of sepsis include the following:- High or low body temperature
- Fast heart rate
- Fast respiratory rate
- Unexplained change in mental status
- Decreased urine output
- Breathing problems
- Low blood pressure