Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about Pediatric Sepsis.

And if you want to follow along with written notes on this topic, you can follow along at zero definals.com slash sepsis or in the Infectious Diseases section of the Zero zero definals pediatrics book. So let's get

straight into it. Sepsis is a syndrome that occurs when an infection causes the child to become

systemically unwell. It's a result of a severe systemic inflammatory response.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition and there should be a low threshold for treating suspected

sepsis. Recognition of a child with sepsis is essential. The younger the child, the less

specific and obvious the symptoms of sepsis can be. It's important to make a judgment about a child's

risk of sepsis based on their

presentation and make decisions about starting antibiotics. This is a frequent task in general

practice, emergency medicine and paediatrics. Sepsis is a medical emergency and should be managed

alongside experienced pediatricians and according to local

guidelines. The information here is for educational purposes only and is not to be used as a guideline

or a basis for decision making. Let's talk about the pathophysiology. The causative pathogens are

recognized by macrophages, lymphocytes and mass cells.

These cells released vast amounts of cytokines, such as interleukins and tumor necrosis factor,

to alert the immune system to the invader.

These cytokines activate other parts of the immune system.

This immune system activation leads to further release of chemicals such as nitrous oxide,

which causes vasodilation.

The immune response creates inflammation throughout the body.

Many of these cytokines cause the endothelial lining of blood vessels to become more permeable.

This causes fluid to leak out of the blood into the extravascular space,

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