Chennai: Aarthi's mother was admitted to a hospital as her platelet count had fallen sharply. With high temperature, she was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital for two weeks before she passed away.
Despite her platelet count having risen to a healthy level, she was unable to return home as she developed sepsis in the hospital's ICU. Sepsis, a result of severe infection in the blood stream, can lead to organ failure. It is a condition that claims more lives than does breast or prostate cancer combined. However, doctors claim that awareness on the condition and its symptoms is lacking in the country.
“Sepsis is among the most common causes of death in the ICU. If a patient stays in the ICU for over 10 days, it becomes almost difficult to prevent sepsis,” said Dr. Mohan, a physician in the city.
“Around 7,50,000 cases of sepsis are reported every year in our country and the emergence of drug resistant bacteria because of antibiotic abuse only makes the situation more alarming,” he added.
“It is time sepsis is put at the top of the health agenda. Despite advances in modern medicine like vaccines, antibiotics, and acute care, sepsis takes the lives of almost one in three people that contract it,” said Prof. Simon Finfer of The George Institute for Global Health, Australia.
Invasive medical equipment like catheters, endoscopes, stents, balloons and needles used during dialysis are carriers of infections, said Dr Mohan, adding that it is important to keep all medical equipment sterilized always. Health experts say the only solution to bring down the burden is to educate both patients and physicians about the horrors of indiscriminate antibiotic use.
