New – Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 Guidelines

JUST ASK, COULD IT BE SEPSIS?

Sepsis is a life-threatening response to any infection that progresses quickly and requires immediate attention. Know the signs and symptoms (one or all of the following may be present).

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SEPSIS

Rapid breathing

Rapid heart rate

Confusion, slurred speech or disorientation

Fever or shivering

Muscle pain

Not passing urine

Discoloured skin

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO!

Early-stage sepsis:

Sufferers are generally unwell, may display one or all of the signs and symptoms, feel worse than when previously sick and there is concern
Contact healthdirect at https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/ OR Call 1800 022 222 (24 hours) and ask…could it be sepsis?

Later stage sepsis:

Sufferers are seriously unwell, likely to display significant changes in multiple signs and symptoms, feel like they might die and there is serious concern
CALL 000 Ambulance or if quicker go immediately to the closest Emergency Department and ask….could it be sepsis?

Key considerations:

If concerned get advice immediately
If seriously concerned get treatment immediately
Inflammation due to infection is normal but in sepsis the inflammation response is uncontrolled, it may start mildly but rapidly escalate to critical illness
Sepsis is difficult to recognise as it may not have an obvious cause, it can look like viral or bacterial illnesses such as flu, gastro or urinary tract infection
Trust your intuition…if it doesn’t feel right TAKE ACTION and always ask…could it be sepsis?

symptom checker Call 000

Just released – See: SCC COVID-19 Guidelines

The SSC COVID-19 subcommittee panel (36 experts from 12 countries) issued 53 statements based on the available evidence, four of which are best practices based on high-quality evidence:

Healthcare workers performing aerosol-generating procedures (e.g. intubation, bronchoscopy, open suctioning, etc.) on patients with COVID-19 should wear fitted respirator masks, such as N-95, FFP2 or equivalent – instead of surgical masks – in addition to other personal protective equipment, such as gloves, gown and eye protection.
Aerosol-generating procedures should be performed on ICU patients with COVID-19 in a negative pressure room, if available. Negative pressure rooms are engineered to prevent the spread of contagious pathogens from room to room.
Endotracheal intubation of patients with COVID-19 should be performed by healthcare workers with experience in airway management to minimize the number of attempts and risk of transmission.
Adults with COVID-19 who are being treated with non-invasive positive pressure ventilation or a high flow nasal canula should be closely monitored for worsening respiratory status and intubated if necessary.