Clinical Practice

Recognition and Initial Management of Sepsis

A focused course in recognising sepsis early, finding its source, and delivering first-hour management, fluid resuscitation and antibiotic treatment, including in pregnancy, children, and alongside malaria or HIV.

4.0 CPD credit hour · 14 modules · 318 minutes · 80% to pass · UGX 60,000

Course aim

To build the recognition and first-hour management skills that give a septic patient the best chance of a good outcome.

What you will be able to do

• Define sepsis and explain why the diagnostic approach moved away from SIRS criteria alone.
• Recognise sepsis using clinical assessment, including in patients without a high fever.
• Identify the likely source of infection through targeted history and examination.
• Obtain appropriate investigations, including blood cultures, before starting antibiotics wherever possible.
• Deliver first-hour management: oxygen, fluid, cultures and antibiotics, appropriately sequenced.
• Recognise septic shock and escalate appropriately.
• Adapt management for pregnancy, children, and patients with malaria or HIV.

Syllabus

1. Course Information — What this course covers, who it is for, and how it is assessed (12 min)
2. Learning Outcomes and Pre-Course Self-Assessment — What you should be able to do by the end, and where you stand now (10 min)
3. Introduction to Sepsis — Definition, burden, and why the diagnostic approach changed (25 min)
4. Pathophysiology and Recognition of Sepsis — What is happening inside the body, and how to spot it at the bedside (32 min)
5. Identifying the Source of Infection — Finding where the infection driving sepsis is coming from (28 min)
6. Investigations and Blood Cultures — What to send, in what order, and what each result changes (25 min)
7. The First Hour of Management — What to do, and in what order, once sepsis is suspected (30 min)
8. Fluid Resuscitation in Sepsis — Giving fluid to counter widened, leaky blood vessels, and knowing when to stop (25 min)
9. Antibiotic Choice in Sepsis — Starting treatment promptly, then refining it as more is known (25 min)
10. Recognising and Managing Septic Shock — When sepsis has progressed beyond what fluid alone can fix (25 min)
11. Sepsis in Special Populations — Pregnancy, children, and sepsis alongside malaria or HIV (28 min)
12. Clinical Case Studies and Applied Clinical Reasoning — Four patients, worked through from suspicion to referral (30 min)
13. Personal Reflection, Action Plan and Course Evaluation — Turning the course into a specific change in your own practice (15 min)
14. References and Further Reading — Where the guidance in this course comes from (8 min)

Who it is for

• Clinical Officers
• Medical Officers
• Nurses
• Midwives
• Allied Health Professionals

Competencies

• Early recognition of sepsis
• Source identification
• First-hour sepsis management
• Fluid resuscitation in sepsis
• Antibiotic selection in sepsis
• Recognition of septic shock