Management of sepsis in acute care

Abstract

A 40-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus and hypertension visited your clinic for routine follow-up. She appeared lethargic and had a history of worsening fever and dysuria over the past three days. Her vital signs were as follows: Respiratory rate 22 breaths/min, heart rate 120 beats/min, blood pressure 100/60 mmHg. On examination, she had normal mental status, normal chest findings, left renal angle tenderness and a capillary refill time of four seconds. Urine dipstick testing showed leukocytes 3+ and nitrites 1+, indicating the presence of a urinary tract infection. You suspected sepsis due to left pyelonephritis.