Which specialist treats sepsis?

Sepsis is the body's harmful response to an infection and can affect how organs function. Emergency clinicians start assessment and treatment while looking for the infection source. A urinary tract infection is one possible source, but the team considers the full history, examination, tests, and scans where appropriate before directing specialist care.

The treatment team may include critical-care clinicians when close monitoring or organ support is required, and a surgical team if an infection needs a procedure for drainage or source control.

Hospital staff rapidly check breathing, circulation, temperature, alertness, and urine output. They may take blood and other samples, give fluids through a vein, provide oxygen, and start antibiotic treatment when a bacterial infection is suspected. Do not delay emergency assessment to arrange a routine specialist appointment.

Call emergency services immediately for confusion, hard-to-wake sleepiness, new difficulty breathing, blue, grey, very pale, or blotchy skin, a seizure, severe weakness, or a person who is getting rapidly worse. Urgent assessment is also needed when fever or chills occur with feeling very unwell, persistent vomiting, or markedly reduced urine.

Once the person is stable, ask what infection was identified, whether further specialist follow-up is needed, what medicines to continue, and which changes after discharge should trigger urgent review.