Death Caused by Urosepsis & Malpractice

Urosepsis, a violent immune reaction to certain infections of the urinary system, can easily lead to death unless doctors treat it quickly and aggressively. The bacteria that cause septic illnesses tend to prey on hospital patients, making health care environments a source of infection. Deaths from urosepsis can stem from routine medical examinations or caregiver negligence, and some urosepsis cases have led to malpractice suits.

Urosepsis

• Urosepsis refers to a specific type of condition called sepsis. The Mayo Clinic defines sepsis as an extremely dangerous immune-system overreaction to an infection. Early-stage sepsis is easier to treat than severe sepsis or septic shock. Symptoms of severe sepsis include skin mottling, mental and respiratory problems, and reduced urinary function. If this condition progresses to septic shock, blood pressure plummets and the patient can die. According to Ercole Concia of the University of Verona, urosepsis, or sepsis from a urinary infection, accounts for 20 to 30 percent of sepsis cases.

Treatment for Urosepsis

• Treatment of urosepsis or any other kind of sepsis should begin as quickly as possible to catch the disease in its early stage. The Mayo Clinic lists several treatment options for sepsis, including antibiotics, blood pressure drugs, oxygen and introduction of fluids through a vein. If a medical implant, tube or abscess has caused the infection, surgeons may have to remove it.

Urosepsis in Hospitals

• Bacteria that cause sepsis disorders, including urosepsis, often lurk within hospitals and other care facilities. One high-profile case reported on CNN and other news services involved the model Mariana Bridi da Costa, who visited a hospital in Brazil for kidney stones. A few days after that diagnosis, she returned to the hospital in a state of septic shock, dying within a few weeks of her initial hospital visit. According to KevinMD.com, the bacteria responsible for her urosepsis, Pseudomonias aeruginosa, attacks almost all its victims in hospital environments, meaning that Bridi da Costa most likely contracted the infection during a urological examination at the hospital.

Malpractice

• Urosepsis cases in hospitals or nursing homes sometimes go to trial as medical malpractice cases. Attorneys USA describes malpractice as a form of professional negligence that harms that professional's client. One such case reported by the Healthcare Provider Service Organization involved the death of an elderly woman from urosepsis following a urinary tract infection. Family members blamed the woman's home health care service for the death, claiming that it had failed to treat the woman for pressure sores that eventually led to the fatal infection.

Considerations

• According to the Mayo Clinic, certain people carry a greater risk of contracting sepsis. These groups include young children, the elderly, cancer or HIV patients, diabetics, and African-Americans. Anyone who suffers from a compromised immune system, including transplant patients taking immune-suppressant drugs, may face increased risk. Because hospitals can so easily spread the bacteria that causes sepsis, long-term hospital patients, especially those with open wounds, also risk contracting the disease.