Non-invasive imaging tests key for early sepsis detection [Video]

Canadian researchers have in a study on Wednesday revealed the potential of a non-invasive strategy to detect sepsis early.

Sepsis is a dysregulated response to infection that can result in life-threatening organ failure if treatment is delayed. Often clinicians lack methods for early detection of the life-threatening emergency which claims millions of lives globally each year.

Researchers from the Western University, in Ontario, Canada, showed that non-invasive imaging tests that can assess blood flow through skeletal muscle may help in early detection.

“The study suggests that while the brain is partly protected in early sepsis, the skeletal muscle could be an early target for detecting changes in microhemodynamics,” said the team in the paper published in The FASEB Journal.

Currently, sepsis is managed by early administration of antibiotics and vasopressors. These medications help manage the infection and systemic hypotension (low blood pressure) and help increase the survival rate. However, there is currently a …