New Crossroad: The Intersection of COVID-19 and Sepsis

Individuals infected with COVID-19 can experience mild symptoms and recover while others can experience more serious illness and may require hospital care.

 

COVID-19 clinical symptoms range from mild acute respiratory infection (ARI), severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) with progressive organ failure, sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).1 It has become clear that sepsis is a common complication in COVID-19 patients and an important risk factor for increased mortality. In a recent multicenter study, the risk factors associated with in-hospital deaths of 191 patients were analyzed and sepsis was the most frequently observed complication (100% of the non-survivors), followed by respiratory failure (98%), ARDS (93%), septic shock (70%) and heart failure (52%).2 Researchers are still investigating the pathogenic origin of sepsis in COVID-19 patients to understand whether it is directly caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus and/or a secondary source (bacterial, viral or fungal).

 

Learning Objectives