How is sepsis diagnosed?

A clinician asks when symptoms began and examines breathing, circulation, alertness, skin colour, temperature and urine output. Blood tests can look for signs of inflammation, changes in blood cells, kidney or liver strain, and problems with clotting. A blood gas test may help assess oxygen and acid balance. Cultures from blood, urine, sputum or a wound may help identify the infection, although treatment may begin before a result is available. Chest imaging or other scans can help find a source such as Pneumonia, a Urinary Tract Infection or Cellulitis. No single test confirms or rules out sepsis on its own.

Sepsis can worsen quickly. If someone has a suspected infection and is becoming confused, unusually drowsy, breathless, weak, or faint, seek emergency medical help. Share their medicines, allergies, recent procedures and any known infection. Do not delay care while waiting for a home temperature reading or trying to match symptoms to a checklist.

Call emergency services for difficulty breathing, blue or mottled skin, new confusion, collapse, severe weakness, or very little urine. Fever or Chills together with Feeling Generally Unwell can occur with infection, but urgency depends on the whole picture and how rapidly the person is changing.

Ask which infection is suspected, which organs are being monitored, what each test is checking, when results are expected, and which changes should prompt immediate reassessment.