Tower Health will join healthcare organizations around the world in recognizing "Pediatric Sepsis Week" April 16 through 22. In the United States, 75,000 children are diagnosed, and 6,800 children die from sepsis every year.
Sepsis is caused by the body's overwhelming immune response to an infection such as the flu, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and bloodstream infections. When a person becomes septic, the body releases immune chemicals into the blood to combat the infection. These chemicals can trigger widespread inflammation, which can impair organ function and lead to tissue damage, organ failure, or death.
Although groups most at-risk for sepsis include newborn babies, children, elderly, and people with chronic diseases and weakened immune systems, anyone can develop sepsis. According to James Reingold, MD, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Black and Hispanic children are at even higher risk of death from sepsis. Prevention of sepsis includes following a general hygiene plan, washing hands, and taking care of any open wounds quickly.
Education about sepsis is important, because the condition is often curable if caught early and treated appropriately. “Knowing the warning signs of sepsis, can save your child’s life,” Dr. Reingold says. In children, signs of sepsis are different than in adults and can include fever (of 100.4 or higher) or skin that is cold to the touch; high heart rate, even after a fever; bluish or very pale skin or a rash that does not fade when pressed on; rapid breathing; difficulty waking up; and decreased or absent urine output.
If your child has a fever, and any of the above symptoms are present, contact your child’s primary care physician or bring them to the Emergency Department and say, “I am concerned about sepsis.”
“We take the threat of sepsis very seriously,” said Christopher Valente, MD, Chief, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Reading Hospital. “When a child presents to an emergency department within Tower Health, and has symptoms that could indicate sepsis, we have an automated screening process in place. Based on the results of that screening, the clinical team works together to rapidly determine the specific treatment that child requires.”
Additional information can be found at sepsis.org/sepsisand/children.
About Tower Health
Tower Health is a regional integrated healthcare system that offers compassionate, high quality, leading edge healthcare and wellness services to communities in Berks, Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. With approximately 11,500 employees, Tower Health consists of Reading Hospital in West Reading; Phoenixville Hospital in Phoenixville; Pottstown Hospital in Pottstown; and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, in partnership with Drexel University. Tower Health is strongly committed to academic medicine and training, including multiple residency and fellowship programs, the Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health, and the Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences in West Reading. The system also includes Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing; home healthcare provided by Tower Health at Home; TowerDirect ambulance and emergency response; Tower Health Medical Group; Tower Health Providers, our clinically integrated network; and 25 Tower Health Urgent Care facilities across our service area. For more information, visit towerhealth.org.