Maternal Sepsis and Septic Shock

Crit Care Clin. 2016 Jan;32(1):119-35. doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2015.08.010. Epub 2015 Oct 19.

Abstract

The year 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ignaz Semmelweis, the Hungarian physician who identified unhygienic practices of physicians as a major cause of childbed fever or puerperal sepsis. Although such practices have largely disappeared as a factor in the development of chorioamnionitis and postpartum or puerperal endometritis, it is appropriate that this article on sepsis in pregnancy acknowledges his contributions to maternal health. This review describes the incidence and mortality of sepsis in pregnancy, methods to identify and define sepsis in this population, including scoring systems, causes, and sites of infection during pregnancy and parturition and management guidelines.

Keywords: Pregnancy; Sepsis; Septic shock; Severe sepsis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Blood Glucose / physiology
  • Chemoprevention / methods
  • Chemoprevention / standards
  • Female
  • Hand Disinfection
  • Humans
  • Hygiene / standards
  • Infection Control / methods
  • Infection Control / standards
  • Intensive Care Units / organization & administration
  • Intensive Care Units / standards
  • Intensive Care Units / statistics & numerical data
  • Maternal Death / etiology
  • Maternal Death / prevention & control
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / etiology
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / mortality
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / prevention & control
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / therapy
  • Protective Factors
  • Risk Factors
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Shock, Septic* / complications
  • Shock, Septic* / etiology
  • Shock, Septic* / mortality
  • Shock, Septic* / prevention & control
  • Smoking / adverse effects
  • Smoking Prevention

Substances

  • Blood Glucose