Had sepsis and wasn't told?! Anyone else?

[kissmelittleass]

Long story short last October I had a uti, was given a three day antibiotic that didn't cure it Of course it was a weekend so thought I'd put up with it till the Monday!
Pressure pain got worse, pain started in my left side quite bad, I managed to fall asleep and woke up violently trying to be sick, felt out of it, shaking uncontrollably teeth chattering, dizzy. Doctor came out and was sent to a&e I was told the infection had gone to my kidney, ended up in hospital for two and a half weeks.
At no stage did anyone say I had sepsis!
Yesterday had appointment with a consultant regarding a procedure I had done and he said you had a severe kidney infection and mentioned sepsis!!
He was surprised I didn't know that like why wouldn't I of been told that? He muttered something about infections turning to sepsis can't quite remember what he said though!
Anyone else had this happen?

Did you get a discharge summery?

No surprise to me. Bet they didn't tell you. I don't think I've ever been given a discharge summary, ever.

I don't think I've ever been given a discharge summary, ever. very strange hospital you've been attending, you're supposed to get a discharge summary every time you're seen.

OP it sounds like he was saying the kidney infection could have turned to sepsis. Were you taken to ITU? Did you need a ventilator? Did you have ongoing symptoms after?

@kissmelittleass

Long story short last October I had a uti, was given a three day antibiotic that didn't cure it Of course it was a weekend so thought I'd put up with it till the Monday! Pressure pain got worse, pain started in my left side quite bad, I managed to fall asleep and woke up violently trying to be sick, felt out of it, shaking uncontrollably teeth chattering, dizzy. Doctor came out and was sent to a&e I was told the infection had gone to my kidney, ended up in hospital for two and a half weeks. At no stage did anyone say I had sepsis! Yesterday had appointment with a consultant regarding a procedure I had done and he said you had a severe kidney infection and mentioned sepsis!! He was surprised I didn't know that like why wouldn't I of been told that? He muttered something about infections turning to sepsis can't quite remember what he said though! Anyone else had this happen?

Yes - my Dad, I decided in the end they don't like to use the word as people assume they will die, whereas sepsis caught and treated at the right time is not terminal. It is essentially an infection

I was in a&e 5 days ago and didn’t get a discharge summary. In fact I didn’t even realise I had been discharged the hand over was that non existent.

My son has (sadly) been 4 times to a&e in 5 months- not one discharge summary, and that’s a different hospital.

So OP, sadly I am not surprised

I've never had a discharge summary. It always goes straight to the GP.

SecretRedHead, no one I know ever been given discharge either. I've had 2 c'sections, a sterilisation and had to stay in hospital for a chest infection. None.
No one I ever known has been given one either. And out of my close family, sil's, parents etc, we've probably had 50+ operations.
Is this the norm? To be given one?

I'm not surprised they didn't tell you. No one told me I'd had a haemorrhage while giving birth - I had to read my notes at home to find that out. They go on about keeping patients informed about their care but don't seem to put their money where their mouths are.

I have always been given a discharge summary along with prescription meds, this is in at least 4 different hospitals and seems to mirror what people in my family have received.

Your A&E information goes to the GP but has very basic information on it. If you are admitted you should get a discharge sheet showing medication prescribed or what you were already on. A full discharge goes to the GP with diagnosis but sometimes there is a massive delay getting that.

This isn't unusual, it is a sign of crap care in my opinion though. Some of my intestines were surgically removed and I didn't find out about it until years later!!

Yes, wasn't told I had it after giving birth. Was horrible.

Sepsis, like most conditions, can range from being relatively mild to fatal. All they mean when they say sepsis is that your infection has got into your blood stream and is affecting your whole body. But, caught early, aggressive treatment with antibiotics and fluids (+/- oxygen) can reverse it. Severe sepsis is obviously worse and septic shock carries a high mortality rate.

I think if you were told you had a severe infection that had travelled to your kidney, that was the right information.

I find the perception of sepsis interesting. I was browsing my medical reccord looking for something and it had sepsis listed as a previous condition. This was not right in terms of the dates as had been in with queried appendicitis but not given any Abs ETC. and it resolved. I was talking to a friend who had been a nurse and she said it clearly wasn’t sepsis because you didn’t leave the hospital in a box, which seemed quite a worrying view about how sepsis is diagnosed / treated.

@OverTheRainbow88

I was in a&e 5 days ago and didn’t get a discharge summary. In fact I didn’t even realise I had been discharged the hand over was that non existent.

My son has (sadly) been 4 times to a&e in 5 months- not one discharge summary, and that’s a different hospital.

So OP, sadly I am not surprised

You won't get a discharge summary from a&e, because you haven't been admitted to the hospital, so therefore cannot be discharged.
If you were then admitted to a ward or medical assessment unit, you should get a discharge summary when you are discharged

I wasn't told I/DD had shoulder distocia when I labour. I only found out when I was reading my maternity notes the next morning and asked a midwife what McRoberts manouver was. Turns out that's why the room suddenly filled with extra people and they were hoiking my leg up to my ear!

I read it on my dad's discharge notes after he had a heart attack then developed an "infection" not once did they tell us he had sepsis. He took months to properly recover.

Dh had sepsis nearly 4 weeks ago. He wasn't making sense so I phoned the ward and they said he was poorly. Then his junior dr phoned to discuss that they were treating him for sepsis. He's slowly recovering but to have been a very healthy guy previously he can barely manage to walk to the bottom of our driveway.

How can you give informed consent to treatment if you don't even know you've got a problem?

I imagine his words might have been "treated for sepsis" - this doesn't mean you actually had it but that they gave you medication in case you did (since sepsis can develop very quickly)

When I had my twins via emergency c section their discharge notes states "treated for sepsis"

When dh had a consultant follow up his letter mentioned sepsis but when he queried it apparently it is also used as a generic term for infection rather than the acute condition.

I've just had a similar experience OP. Phone booking in appointment with midwife, and she asked if anyone had talked to me about the high lactate levels in my blood last time (did not indicate whether last pregnancy or birth, but presuming the latter). I said no, she seemed surprised but moved on without explanation. I Googled as saw it was an indicator of sepsis, so mentioned to the midwife I saw yesterday for all the face-to-face bits and pieces. She immediately mentioned sepsis, but couldn't see anything on my notes as was of the attitude that I didn't have it now, so nothing to worry about. It does make me feel vulnerable though that I was being treated for issues I didn't even know I had, so going home I wasn't exactly on the look-out for recurring symptoms (all I knew was I had had a PPH so was crazy tired).

You were told you had an infection which you did.

Sepsis is a reaction to an infection. You don’t ‘catch’ it. If you had an infection that was severe, your body may have a septic reaction to it. You were told you had a severe kidney infection, which is correct. You were treated correctly and recovered. I’m not sure what your issue is?

@TheScurrilousFunge most women haemorrhage when giving birth - it just means you bled! If it was a minor bleed that didn't need any further treatment then why would they specifically mention it? Obviously they have recorded it on your notes, which you have read.
I had a PPH, needing emergency surgery and 7 units of blood and platelets plus a week in ICU. I don’t actually recall anyone telling me I was haemorrhaging - it was obvious!

Ive been in hospital many times - Ive always been given a discharge letter, and my GP has been sent something - eg when I did have a PPT, he called me in for a lengthy 6 week check up where he went through the report he’d got back from the hospital.

Well sepsis isn't an ICD 10 diagnosis.
It just means an infection has spread to your bloodstream.
It's a marker of severity but not a separate diagnosis. You would be treated for the underlying infection ie chest infection, urine infection or the microorganism if one can be cultured.
There would not necessarily be any difference in treatment vs what you were already receiving for the kidney infection.

Why does everyone feel is it so important to be told about sepsis?
This is quite a recent development that people have even heard of it since public awareness campaigns. The campaigns were so people would spot the symptoms and get antibiotics in time but having had sepsis once doesn't necessarily have any long term implications that you specifically need to know about.
You already know you had a very bad kidney infection as you were in hospital with it. That's all sepsis means really. You had a very bad infection and you knew that. What would it add to your understanding or future care if the word sepsis was used?

If you attend A&E (or outpatients) you have not been admitted to hospital, hence you are not discharged and don't have a discharge letter. Your GP will be informed of the attendance.

If you are admitted to hospital there will 100% be a discharge letter and in modern hospitals the patient always gets a copy. I have never known that not to happen in recent years.