Atlanta Legal Nurse Consultant At Athens AACN Symposium - Synchronizing Sepsis

Atlanta legal nurse consultant Liz Buddenhagen attended the March 22, 2016 Athens AACN Symposium held at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, Georgia.

Synchronizing Sepsis:

Priscilla Hartley, Doctor of Nursing Practice and Registered Nurse, is an assistant professor of nursing at Augusta University College of Nursing, and teaches undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. Hartley is a member of the Athens AALNC.

Hartley was involved with the University of Alabama research team headed by Henry E. Wang, MD, MPH and associate professor at the UAB School of Medicine. Dr. Wang received a “huge” grant to study sepsis.

Hartley presented a sepsis scenario from a dog bite. She took attendees through the various stages of sepsis and septic shock. She said every time an organ goes down, the mortality of the patient increases.

Acute organ dysfunction identification:

• Central nervous system – altered consciousness, confusion.
• Cardiovascular – tachycardia, hypotension, altered CVP and oxygenation.
• Respiratory – increased respiratory rate, decreased oxygenation.
• Renal – decrease urine output or no urine output, increased creatinine.
• Hepatic – jaundice, increased liver enzymes and decreased albumin.
• Hematologic – decreased platelets, increased PT/INR, increased PTT, decreased protein C and increased D-dimer.
• Metabolic – metabolic acidosis, increased lactate level and decreased lactate clearance.

According to the CDC HCHS Data Brief, the national impact of sepsis includes higher mortality rates, higher ventilator usage, higher costs, ICU stay prolonged an additional 8 days and an average of more than 7 co-diagnoses.

Hartley said the incidence of sepsis carries a higher mortality than acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).Consequences of surviving sepsis are cognitive changes that may be subtle but persist for years, depression similar to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), continuing risk of death following hospitalization for 5 years and extensive rehab and long term care placement.

Early intervention equals improved outcomes.

66% of patients with sepsis come from the emergency department (Wang, Critical Care Medicine, 2007).

Septic patients are most prevalent in the southeast through the mid-Atlantic areas.

Early antibiotics are imperative. “Time is Tissue” meaning for every hour antibiotics are not given to a patient in sepsis, there is an increase of mortality of 7%. Hartley added that the antibiotics must be given on time.

Per the Surviving Sepsis Campaign 2016, it is important to have early recognition and treatment, screening for sepsis, measurements of lactate, aggressive fluid resuscitation before pressors and early broad spectrum antibiotics and source control.

Atlanta Legal Nurse Consultant:

Liz Buddenhagen assists Atlanta lawyers with medical legal cases. For more information, email Liz@BuddenhagenLNC.com , view www.Legal-Nurse-Consultant-LNC.com or call 770-725-2997.

Contact Information

Liz Buddenhagen, RN

Principal

Buddenhagen and Associates

(1) 770-725-2997

Liz@BuddenhagenLNC.com