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My mom, who has moderate dementia and Parkinsons started showing strong signs of UTI (fever, severe confusion, weakness, strong urine smell) so I took her to ER and she definitely has a UTI. They admitted her and started fluids and antibiotics. The next morning the doctor at the hospital came to speak with me and said she has a blood infection (sepsis) and "it's the bad kind" as he put it, gram-negative bacteria. He said they are going to continue antibiotics and fluid and she seems stable now. When I asked if she could die from it he just said he wants to concentrate on clearing up the UTI first in hopes that will help. She still has a fever but the nurses said it has gone down a couple points. Not sure what to think about all of this and wondered if anyone out there has had a similar experience. I just want to be prepared and also want to make certain I give other family members who are out of state some notice.

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I'm not a doctor but I know an elderly person who passed on due to sepsis. It can go from bad to worse very quickly and is always considered an emergency situation. I've read that a UTI can be very dangerous in an elderly person with a weak immune system and that can lead to sepsis which can quickly lead to death. I find that most hospitals and doctors are honest about the chance of dying in severe cases. I hope that is the case for you. People do die from it, it would not be uncommon, or have to spend weeks recovering.
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It would not hurt to prepare for death. At 75 years of age, there should be a living will or other plans in place anyway. You might also google sepsis to learn more. I find that many people understand other causes of death in elderly people but getting a UTI leading to sepsis is something many are not prepared to treat.
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Just wanted to add that I hope your mom pulls through.
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The doctor is trying to prepare you for the worst, very sad to say. Sepsis can be fatal, especially if it progresses to Septic Shock (low blood pressure). There is hope for recovery that it was caught in time and treated. Recovery can be slow and there could be long lasting organ damage, especially the kidney and lungs. Brain, heart and liver can be damaged as well,

I know this, because this is what my Mom died from.
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CaregivingNYC

Unfortunately the chances of that happening are slim, especially for older people. Even if she survives, she may have life long organ damage.
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If she is stable now, that's a good sign. Let them clear the UTI and then determine if the kidneys are still functional. Take one day at a time. At 75, nobody bounces back quickly.
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Denverfan - let me say first that I hope your mom will be ok, but the doctor is absolutely in the right here when he tells you this is very serious. Sepsis is extremely dangerous in the elderly. If she is stable now, she may have a chance - but you do need to be prepared for the worst. I'm so sorry to put it that way, but it's best to be honest about these things so you can be prepared. I do hope she is strong enough to pull through.
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I should add that gram-negative bacteria is especially dangerous to the elderly, as it's one of the more difficult antibiotic-resistant infections to deal with. My father passed away from sepsis 3 years ago, but he also had other co-morbidities occuring at the same time.
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My dad just passed away August 19th he was 76. He went into the hospital the previous Friday with a UTI, seemed to be doing better. I saw him on Wednesday and he was fine, clear headed and talking - I am so thankful that we went over an advanced directive with him then. Thursday night, he was acting tired/confused.

Friday mid-morning he was moved down to the ICU and that afternoon he passed.
His blood pressure plummeted and they could not get it back up, the sepsis was also damaging his organs.

I really hope your mother pulls through and is o.k., if you haven't yet and she is still clear headed go over an advanced directive. If her sepsis turns into septic shock you will need to know without a doubt what she does and does not want done.

My brother lives 3 hours away and even though he left as soon as I told him it wasn't looking good, he didn't make it in time. None of us thought something like this was going to happen, we were completely blindsided by the sepsis, my father has had UTIs in the past and nothing like this ever happened. I've read up on it since then, but at the time I had no idea how fast it can go bad, I still can't believe it.
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Please keep us posted on how she is doing
My mom has been hospitalized with very bad UTIs in the past requiring infectious disease specialists to treat her
She pulled through but she has had 5 in the past 7 months
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My mother ( who was 91 at the time) had sepsis due to pneumonia complications and was hospitalized. They told us she would probably not make it, but she did. Difficult to predict who will pull through these infections, it depends on lots of factors. My SIL's father came through Sepsis three times! Good thoughts coming your way.
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Sepsis is serious enough for you to inform other family members about it anyway; but the good news is that it has been recognised promptly and is being treated appropriately so cautious optimism is not unrealistic. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, perhaps? But I wish your mother a full recovery, and hope that you won't be left in limbo for much longer.
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the ecoli sepsis went to my fathers heart and lungs. He pulled through in his 90's...
((Hug)))
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Denverfan, your profile says that your mom has dementia. Did she have an Advanced Directive or make her wishes known to you before the dementia?
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As everyone has said sepsis is extremely serious and can lead to death. So do let the relatives know this has happened and it is up to them whether they visit now or wait to see if she takes a turn for the worse.
I did go into septic shock when my appendix burst last year and managed to survive although apparently the Drs did not think I would. Recovery is certainly a very long process and you must want to get better. Hope your mother recovers. It sounds a though she is receiving all the right treatments.
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A UTI that is left untreated becomes sepsis. Sepsis can definitely lead to death even in young people, this is not restricted to the elderly.

What worries me more is the diagnosis of a gram negative bacteria. Without going into all the medical mumbo jumbo here, I will try to explain what this means. Gram negative bacteria occur in nature...all over the world. One example of a gram negative bacteria that most people have heard of is E. coli but there are many many more. Urinary tract infections can be caused by gram negative bacteria and when they are they are known as "complicated urinary tract infections" because they tend to stick around and are hard to treat.

The important thing about gram negative bacteria is that they have this very strong cell membrane...think of it like a shield around the bacteria. This shield makes them immune to certain classes of antibiotics...but the good news is that there are two classes of antibiotics that are very good at killing these bacteria. You may recognize these antibiotics as the "-mycin" suffix drugs. While this all sounds like good news, there is one catch.

Once a gram negative bacteria gets into the circulatory system (blood stream for example) they have this unique ability to create endotoxic shock. What that means is that the combination of fever, low blood pressure and low respiration caused by the blood infection can be instantly and quickly fatal.

So that's the medical breakdown of what's happening here. Your mom is in the best place she can be to solve this problem. I'm sure they are pumping her full of the antibiotics needed to treat this infection. Keep your eye on her blood pressure and temperature to avoid the shock syndrome. Also, since the antibiotics are very powerful, after this is over she may end up with C-diff or another digestive malady. Probiotics could be helpful in this case. Many prayers.

Angel
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Thank you, Angel - for you explanation. While I'm sorry to hear of this sad situation, I'm alway pleased to learn something new. I did knownbits and pieces of this explanation but you pulled it together very well for mental consumption.
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Younger you are the better the chance to survive Sepsis.
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micalost

Great your father pulled through, did he have any organ damage due to the disease?
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Wow, many thanks to all who responded.. such great people on this forum! Angel, thank you for your informative post, I learned more from your post than the doctors and the internet articles!! I want to have hope but I also want to be prepared so I really appreciate hearing the personal experiences and advice from you all. Magnolia, my mom's situation is trending like your dad's. She seems to be responding to the antibiotics and fever is going down a bit (was over 102 and now just below 101). However, her white blood cell count is up. They're still giving her fluids and antibiotics but she is still shakey and confused. I'm supposed to see the doctor again today. (to answer the question of Medical directive, I don't have a specific medical directive but I do have medical POA). It is comforting to hear from you all and thanks again for taking the time to respond!
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zytrhr- my father was never quite as strong after that- The place he lived was a dump and lost their Vet contract because of how they didnt seek treatment for him when this happened. I do not think he had any organ damage, but that is hard to tell on someone that old. All I know is that they refused to keep him on low dose antibiotics as prevention, or follow more antiseptic procedures for his catheter. He got moved to a better home and got better for a while.
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Glad to answer this nursing question as I know all about gram negative and positive bacteria. The way they determine which one it is, is to grow the sample in a pitre dish and see which strain it is under a microscope. Gram-negative bacteria is indeed "bad", and whenever a doctor is talking to you about your mom (or any loved one), ask what the specifics are, have the doctor explain what could happen if the sepsis was not cured (and yes, it can be fatal). Just because the doctor went to medical school does not mean they have to talk down to you or not give you their time. After all, your mom's insurance is paying his/her salary! You need to do your homework as well and research medical terms. It sounds like they caught the infection in time, but know there is a 20% chance of getting a nosocomial (hospital infected) infection just being IN the hospital. Doctors and nurses need to be washing their hands and wearing gloves to protect themselves as well as others visiting or with whom they are treating. Staff gets busy and miss that step or they were not listening in school! Wash your hands and when you get home take off all your clothing, wash it, and take a shower washing your hair too. My best to your mom and many prayers are sent your way!
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I am an RN with many years hospital experience and even I missed the signs of UTI in my 96 yr old father. He was septic as well. I rode in the ambulance and it was touch and go. As his healthcare POA I knew what his wishes were, and I knew his active prostate cancer had spread throughout. I informed the ER doctors not to put him on a ventilator and not to perform CPR if his heart stopped, but by all means try to fight the sepsis with antibiotics. His sepsis did subside in a few days. He was also on a morphine drip for his cancer pain and he eventually passed away several days later, very peacefully. Now I understand there are adult diapers available that have the technology to detect UTIs. These diapers were initially developed for infants but are now available for adults. Just do a web search on "diapers that detect UTIs"
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I am no doctor but I have known a person who died from sepsis & also another person who died from a blood infection so both should be taken very seriously. So do everything medically that you can and pray.
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My mom went through same process and went into septic shock (she's 78), was on a ventilator for 5 days and PULLED THROUGH. Against all odds. We were talking about when to let her go one minute and then she started to fight. She is in a nursing home, but she was already there a month from having the same thing- UTI and sepsis without septic shock. This has been just since Mother's Day altogether. However, she keeps getting UTIs and she is in stage 4 renal failure, and every UTI is super serious and extreme measures have to be taken such as IV fluids and antibiotics every time which is about every other week. That's why she is there, I'd never catch those infections in time. She is mobile, has fully mental capacity also. When I say mobile I mean sitting up, transferring from bed to chair and on a good day walking a little with a walker around her room and reorganizing a drawer or something like that. But, we got more time, and as stated above, the doctors were very honest. They always thought she had a chance, it was the hospital social worker that told us to gather and decide when to pull her off of the ventilator just as standard protocol for someone in her situation. The doctors kept saying, give her a few more days- and I'm so glad we did. They were right, she had a chance.
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micalost

I'm sorry. Some people do have life long complications if they survive Sepsis. At least he did get a little better.Did the place he was staying at discharge him while he was in the hospital.
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Caremanager313 - What excellent news about the Depend-type garments that can detect a UTI! I never refer to them as "diapers" because at 90 yrs. of age, my husband is not a child, even though he acts like one. I call them "pull-ups" and he knows what I mean (still). Whatever works for your loved ones. And my condolences for your father's passing. Even we RNs cannot stop death.
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Denverfan, I hope your mother is much better. Could you let us know what happened? Thoughts and prayers are with you!!
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Hi, I guess I want to tell you to be hopeful. My mother is 91 and lives in a nursing home. She was hospitalized because of multiple medical issues. Sepsis and very low BP were discovered in the ER. Our nursing home either did not know her condition or pretended not to know. My mother was admitted, received very good care at the hospital and recovered. She is back at the NH and is doing well - all things considered. Good luck to your mom and you. I hope she recovers well.
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One more thing that I'd suggest that you stay on top of, is to make sure that the fluids that are going into her, aren't more than what is coming out. (That's something that the nursing staff should be monitoring). The elderly are prone to congestive heart failure. You'd think that would be something that the hospital staff would stay on top of and question, but that isn't always the reality. My father in law passed away because of that oversight. Best wishes to you.
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