Diagnosis Sepsis is the likely diagnosis when a person with an infection anywhere in the body suddenly develops a high fever. If the person has sepsis, usually the number of white cells in the blood is greatly increased. Blood cultures are used to grow and identify the infecting organism. However, bacteria may not grow in a blood culture, particularly if the person is taking antibiotics. Treatment and Prognosis Bacteremia caused by surgery or by the insertion of a catheter into the urinary tract usually requires no treatment, as long as the catheter is removed quickly.
Sepsis is very serious, and the risk of death is high.
A doctor must begin treatment with antibiotics immediately, even before laboratory culture results that identify the type of bacteria causing the infection are available. A delay in starting antibiotic treatment greatly decreases the chances of survival. Initially, a doctor bases the choice of antibiotic on which bacteria are most likely to be present. Often, two antibiotics are given together to increase the chances of killing the bacteria. Later, when the culture results are available, the doctor can substitute the antibiotic that is most effective against the specific bacteria causing the infection.