s/s of sepsis?

[Ms.RN]

i had a patient who looked very pale like he's been drained of blood. his hands and feet and also cold and i couldnt get his pulse ox due to coldness of fingers. i warmed his fingers with warm towel but still not getting a good reading and was 80%. his blood pressure was fine 106/60, but pulse was in 140's and tempt was 97.0 does this indicate sepsis? i'm asking for a input as experienced nurses, not asking for a medical advice.

[justiceforjoy]

Not knowing the surrounding issues, aside from the temperature, it reads like a drop in blood volume (hemorrhage?)

A raise or drop in temp, increased respiration and an increased heart rate are signs of sepsis, among other things.

[EymieICURN]

Even though the BP looked "fine" the fact that the HR was so elevated means that the heart is working really hard to keep the BP at that level. Once the heart poops out that BP will drop fast. Like the previous post notes...it is hard to make an educated guess without knowing the surrounding issues.

[GOMER42]

This sounds more close to hemorrhagic shock

Cool skin is from vasoconstriction. The body is trying to shunt blood centrally. The HR increases to attempt to compensate for low volume. And although this pressure looks ok, it is on the low side and may be hypotensive compared to the pt's baseline.

[dmc_rrt]

If a pt. is getting fluids, he can still be septic with a normal temp, as the fluids are cooling him down.

[MedicalLPN, LPN]

I've had quite a few patients even without fluids that were afebrile while septic. I agree with the other posters that said this sounds more like hemorrhagic or hypovolemic shock.