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Medical Author:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Treatment

• The patient will likely be administered oxygen, either by a tube that is placed near the nose or through a clear plastic mask.



• Depending on the results of the tests, the doctor may order medications. These medications may include antibiotics given intravenously (given directly into the vein). Initially, the antibiotics may be those that kill many different bacteria because the exact kind of infection the patient has is not known. Once the blood culture results show the identity of the bacteria, your doctor may select a different antibiotic that kills the specific microbe.



• The doctor may also order IV salt solution (saline) and medications to increase the blood pressure if it is too low.



• The doctor will likely admit the patient to the hospital at least until the blood culture results are known. If the patient is very ill and with low blood pressure, the doctor may admit the patient to the intensive care unit (ICU) and may consult other doctors to help in the management of the illness.



• If results show an infection in the abdomen, either drainage of the infection by the placement of tubes or surgery may be necessary.



• Research to discover new treatments for sepsis has failed over the past 20-30 years. Many medications that were thought to be helpful were proven to have no benefit in clinical trials. However, scientists are working diligently to discover medications that will modify the body's aggressive immune response to microbes, which leads to sepsis.