Pediatric Sepsis

Hi everyone. Next we'll be discussing the new EMS protocol for pediatric sepsis including the sources, signs and symptoms of sepsis, the sepsis alert criteria and the medication used in the treatment of sepsis. Lets start with the sources, signs and symptoms first. Sepsis can be caused by a wide range of infections including pneumonia, UTIs and wound infections. Signs and symptoms of sepsis include fever, altered mental status, tachypnea, hypotension and poor oral intake. The sepsis alert criteria now if you suspect or document an infection and in a non pregnant patient and they meet at least two of the HAT criteria, call a sepsis alert. As a reminder, the HAT criteria are H for hypotension, a altered mental status or GCS of less than 14 which is new onset and then the T is tachypnea. Let's talk about the medications. For pediatric sepsis alert, the EMS protocol calls for a septriaxone infusion gentamicin administration unless contraindicated. Normal saline is also administered and if the patient is hypotensive, push dose pressor epi. It's important to refer to the Hentavi app for age appropriate hypotension thresholds when assessing the HAC criteria in pediatric patients. And don't forget to use a manual blood pressure to be on the safe side. One more additional pearl for pediatric sepsis is and adult sepsis. Remember that you can use an end tidal value of less than 25 for kids or adults to understand whether sepsis is present in your patient. So in conclusion, just remember pediatric sepsis can be a life threatening condition and early recognition and treatment are crucial. By following the new EMS protocol for pediatric sepsis we can provide better care for our patients and improve their outcomes. Thank you for watching. Thank you. Please stay safe.