Diagnosis And Management Of Maternal Sepsis And Septic Shock

Abstract

Septic shock arising in pregnancy or after delivery may be difficult to diagnose and women may deteriorate rapidly. Early warning scoring systems may aid prompt diagnosis so treatment can begin
rapidly and a crisis may be averted. If shock develops, it will affect multiple organ systems and may do so rapidly and catastrophically. Management must be multi-disciplinary including early liaison with
the Critical Care team. It is vital for the staff first encountering the patient to act quickly to provide adequate and appropriate resuscitation, broad-spectrum antibiotics and definitive treatment of the
underlying problem to minimise the duration and severity of tissue hypoperfusion and improve the chance of a good outcome. The majority of sepsis occurring in the obstetric population is bacterial and sensitive to widely available antibiotics.

It is helpful to remember the advice from CMACE 2006 - 2008; “Be aware of sepsis – beware of sepsis.” 1