Sepsis
A body-wide, life-threatening reaction to infection; fever, a rising heart rate and a falling blood pressure need immediate reporting.
Sepsis is the body’s response to an infection turning against it and damaging its own organs. It can move to septic shock within hours, so the LPN’s contribution is catching it early and escalating fast rather than waiting to see whether the client improves.
Watch the vital signs together rather than one at a time. Fever or an unexpectedly low temperature, a heart rate climbing above 90, breathing faster than 20, and a blood pressure drifting down make a pattern that should go to the RN immediately. New confusion in an older adult is often the first thing anyone notices, and urine output falling off is an early sign the kidneys are already affected. Report the trend, not just the single reading, and say plainly that you are concerned about sepsis. Treatment is time-critical: cultures are drawn before antibiotics start so the organism can still be identified, and IV fluids go in early to support blood pressure. Every hour of delay raises the chance the client dies.
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