Sepsis in obese pregnant women

Group A Streptococcal Infection During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period

Group A Streptococcus, the causative organism for "childbed fever," continues to pose a threat to women during pregnancy and the postpartum period, despite advances in hygiene and the development of antibiotic therapy. This resilient bacterium has resurfaced with intensified virulence, and, for reasons not entirely clear, causes severe disease in some women. Sepsis and toxic shock syndrome caused by Group A Streptococcus contribute to the alarming rates of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Early recognition of the subtle signs and symptoms of sepsis is critical to decrease the risk for mortality; however, early signs can be elusive during the perinatal period because of the physiologic changes of pregnancy. Care management requires a coordinated, collaborative, multidisciplinary team approach. Sepsis is a clinical emergency, and health care providers need to respond as a well-prepared team.

Sepsis in Special Populations

Sepsis is recognized by the presence of physiologic and laboratory changes that reflect the inflammatory response to infection on cellular and systemic levels. Comorbid conditions, such as cirrhosis, end-stage renal disease, and obesity, alter patients' susceptibility to infection and their response to it once present. Baseline changes in vital signs and chronic medications often mask clues to the severity of illness. The physiologic, hematologic, and biochemical adjustments that accompany pregnancy and the puerperium introduce similar challenges. Emergency providers must remain vigilant for subtle alterations in the expected baseline for these conditions to arrive at appropriate management decisions.

Clinical and microbiological features of maternal sepsis: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Identifying pregnant women with sepsis is challenging because diagnostic clinical and laboratory criteria overlap with normal pregnant physiologic indices. Our primary study aim was to describe clinical and laboratory characteristics of women diagnosed with sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. Our secondary aim was to determine positive predictive values for International Classification of Disease (ICD)-9 billing codes for sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock.

METHODS

After gaining Institutional Review Board approval, we identified women with ICD-9 codes for sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock who were admitted to a single tertiary obstetric center from 2007-2013. Diagnoses were confirmed using criteria from the International Sepsis Definitions Conference report. Demographic, obstetric, vital signs and laboratory data were abstracted by medical chart review.

RESULTS

We identified 190 women with sepsis-related ICD-9 codes: of these, 35 (18%) women met the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock. Twenty (57%) women had a sepsis-related diagnosis after cesarean delivery. Twenty-one (60%) women had one or more pre-existing medical conditions and 19 (54%) women had one or more obstetric-related conditions. The genital tract was the most common site of infection. We observed considerable heterogeneity in maternal vital signs and laboratory indices for women with ICD-9 codes for sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock. The positive predictive value for each sepsis-related ICD-9 code was low: 16% (95% CI 10 to 24%) for sepsis, 10% (95% CI 3 to 25%) for severe sepsis and 24% (95% CI 10 to 46%) for septic shock.

CONCLUSION

We identified marked heterogeneity in patient characteristics, clinical features, laboratory indices and microbiological findings among cohorts of women diagnosed with maternal sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock. Based on our findings, the incidence of maternal sepsis using ICD-9 codes may be significantly overestimated.