sepsis treatment

Over the years of the podcast, we have often struggled with questions of why: why pathogens act the way they do, why certain people get sick while others don’t, or why we know little about some diseases. This episode is no exception - sepsis certainly inspires many “whys”. But for perhaps the first time on the pod, we find ourselves grappling not only with “why?” but also with “what?”. What, indeed, is sepsis? Ask a dozen doctors and you may get a dozen different answers. Our first goal for this episode is to sift through the various definitions of sepsis and what we know about its pathology to get a firm handle on this deadly consequence of infection. We then turn our sights to a thrilling period of sepsis history - Joseph Lister and his carbolic acid spray - before attempting to address the status of sepsis around the world today. By the end of the episode, your picture of sepsis may not be crystal clear, but hopefully the edges are a little less blurry. And helping us to de-blur the edges of sepsis is the wonderful Katy Grainger, leading sepsis and amputee advocate and on the Board of Directors of Sepsis Alliance, who shares with us her harrowing sepsis experience. You can learn more about Katy’s story and advocacy work by following her on instagram (@katysepsisamputee), TikTok (@katysepsisamputee), Facebook, or by checking out www.sepsis.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day, approximately 30,000 people die globally of sepsis. The condition comes about when your immune system overreacts to an infection, leading potentially to organ failure and death. There is no cure. But then in 2017, a doctor proposed a novel treatment for sepsis, a mixture that included Vitamin C, arguing it saved the lives of most of his patients. NPR's Richard Harris has been reporting on this treatment and how it's divided scientists from around the world. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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