Sepsis in children: Initial assessment and treatment

Severe sepsis is the leading cause of mortality among children aged under the age of 5 years. The four main causes of sepsis in children are pneumonia, malaria, measles and diarrhoea. Preventing sepsis is extremely important and immunization of children and regular hand hygiene proved to be very efficient and cost effective in avoiding the development of diseases that may lead to sepsis. Clinical symptoms of all stadiums of sepsis in children are often non specific, but early diagnosis is extremely important. The initial treatment of sepsis in children has to be adjusted to the developmental stadium, age, the capacity of its immune system and the likely cause of infection. In studies on children early administration of antimicrobial therapy proved to be efficient. Early management of septic shock should consist of rapid boluses of crystalloids and 5% albumin solutions and administration of vasoactive medications until hemodynamic stability is achieved. nema