What is Septic Shock?
There are two categorizations of bacterial blood infection in dogs — bacteremia and sepsis. Bacteremia is a temporary presence of bacteria in the blood stream, while sepsis is when bacteria are in the bloodstream for a longer period of time, causing illness. When sepsis becomes severe, septic shock can occur.
Symptoms are broken down into early and late stages. Early stage symptoms may include increased heart rate, shaking, fever, and rapid breathing. Late stage symptoms may include low body temperature, difficulty breathing and organ failure. Treatment of sepsis typically requires IV fluids, antibiotics, cardiovascular support, insertion of feeding tubes, and others, up to and including surgery. While recovery from sepsis depends on the severity and underlying conditions, most cases in which the pet has gone into septic shock have a grave prognosis.
While there are thousands of different types of bacteria in the world, only a few kinds tend to cause disease to dogs. Bacteria enter the bloodstream on a regular basis though this usually occurs in small quantities. When there are more bacteria than the white blood cells are able to remove, an infection develops. There are varying degrees of infection. For example, bacteremia is a more temporary infection and rarely exhibits any symptoms. It can occur e.g. during a dental cleaning, when bacteria is dislodged from the mouth. Sepsis, on the other hand, is when the bacteria in the blood stream cause illnesses. Sepsis is more severe and will exhibit symptoms. A septic shock is a severe form of sepsis.
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Symptoms of Septic Shock in Dogs
Symptoms of sepsis will vary depending on the severity and progression of the condition, as well as the underlying causes of the septic condition. Symptoms are typically broken down into two stages of progression, early and late.
- Early stages:
- Shaking
- Fever
- Weakness
- Confusion
- Rapid heart rate
- Bounding pulses
- Rapid rise in temperature
- Rapid breathing or panting
- Decrease in urinary output
- Glucose deficiency in bloodstream
- Red mucous membranes
- Late stages:
- Pale mucous membranes
- Inconsistencies in pulse
- Cool extremities
- A dazed condition
- Low body temperature
- Organ failure
- Difficulty breathing
- Fluid retention
Types
When there is bacteria within the bloodstream, there are two categorizations used to identify the severity of illness.
- Bacteremia is a term used to describe a presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. Temporary bactermia may occur with dental procedures, because the bacteria in and around the gums are freed into the bloodstream. This can also occur when bacteria from the intestine passes into the bloodstream, but these are removed when the blood then passes through the liver. Cases of bacteremia are usually not serious.
- Sepsis, commonly referred to as septic shock, is when illness results from bacteria and/or their toxins remaining in the bloodstream for a period of time. Sepsis is less common than bacteremia and usually occurs when there’s an infection at some other place in the body, such as the lungs, stomach, or urinary tract. Sepsis can also occur after a surgery. The risk of sepsis can be increased by the presence of a foreign body. Animals with immune system disorders are more vulnerable to sepsis. Septic shock is an extreme condition of sepsis.
Causes of Septic Shock in Dogs
Cytokines, which are substances the immune system produces to fight infections, and toxins produced by bacteria, are often the cause of sepsis. These substances cause dilation of the blood vessels, which leads to a drop in blood pressure. The flow of blood is reduced, including blood flow to important organs like the kidneys and brain. The body tries to compensate for this by increasing heart rate so that more blood is pumped. Over time this weakens the heart and blood flow is even further reduced. Sepsis most regularly originates from the GI tract, respiratory tract, severe dental problems, chronic UTIs, and infected wounds.
Conditions that may increase the likelihood of sepsis:
- Surgery, especially if the location of the surgery is infected
- Pre-existing infections
- Immune system disorders
- Pneumonia
- Uterine infection
- Urinary tract infection
- Skin infection
- Being young or old
Diagnosis of Septic Shock in Dogs
Diagnosis of septic shock may require a variety of tests.
- Physical exam
- Blood tests that look at levels of white blood cells, oxygen levels, platelet count, lactic acid concentration and levels of metabolic waste products.
- Electrocardiogram, looking for heart irregularities.
- Blood cultures to identify the infectious bacteria.
- Urinalysis
- Urine culture
- X-Rays of the chest and abdomen
- Ultrasound of stomach and heart
- If there is abnormal fluid found in the chest or stomach, a fluid analysis should be completed.
- Catscan or MRI
Because sepsis is an infection of the blood, your vet will look for certain findings in the blood work that is done. This can include the following:
- Increased or decreased count of white blood cells
- Very high or very low blood sugar
- Increased or decreased count of red blood cells, from dehydration or anemia
- An increase in liver enzymes
- An increase in kidney values
- Abnormal clotting times
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Treatment of Septic Shock in Dogs
Sepsis treatment is focused on removing the source of the infection, with a secondary goal of treating the symptoms and stabilising the unwell patient. Possible treatments that achieve this include:
- IV fluids to increase blood pressure
- Antibiotic therapy
- Colloid and vasopressor administration
- Drugs to increase blood flow to vital organs
- Nutritional management
- Administration of oxygen
- Placement of feeding tubes, due to a decreased appetite and struggle eating
- Surgery, typically used to drain abscesses or remove dead tissue.
- Persistent monitoring for any change in status, particularly in clotting, hydration, and organ functionality.
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Recovery of Septic Shock in Dogs
Close monitoring is an essential part of the recovery process. Your vet may do follow-up tests, such as blood work, and will focus on organ function, hydration, and clotting ability. Treatment and follow-up will likely be completed in the hospital to monitor indicators of relapse. The vet will monitor white blood cell count, blood sugar level, red blood cell count, liver enzymes, kidney values, and clotting. While recovery of sepsis depends largely on the severity of the condition and the underlying issues that led to sepsis, conditions in which the pet goes into septic shock have a guarded prognosis.
Septic Shock Average Cost
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Septic Shock Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
Labrador Retriever
Sadie
11 Years
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Deceased
Good morning. My 11 year old Labrador had to be euthanized 2 days ago due to complications from stomach surgery. As it has been related before I am looking for closure/understanding of how her deterioration happened so quickly. In the last 6-8 months she developed an unbelievable fixation with eating anything she believed was food. She would dig in the yard for pecans, nuts or anything thinking it was food. Friday she was able to get ahold of a beach towel that was placed next to the washer that had some beef juice on it. When we came home the towel was shredded. Due to the destruction of the towel we didn't think she actually ate it. We were wrong. 2 days later we were in the animal ER after she threw up an approximately softball sized amount of shredded towel. The Dr. recommended surgery as it appeared there was more in the stomach. Surgery was performed she did say that some of the towel had started into the small intestine, but she was able to remove it all. They also found a rubbery / plastic material that had been in there for some time. My dog was doing fine 24 hrs post op, but they were concerned she was not eating. I went to the hospital sat with her the next day to get her to eat, to no avail. They asked me to come back at 6 pm that evening to try again. she still would not eat. They released her to me at midnight after running more fluid and medicating in her stating she was stable to go home. She was to go to my vet at 7AM. After getting home, she went outside and peed, went to her bed and laid down. At 0400 she was breathing irregular and moaning in pain. We rushed back to the hospital, as soon as we arrived she went into cardiac arrest. The suture line in her belly looked very red. The Dr. stated that she was in shock and glucose was very low. She arrested again and he felt she was in septic shock. We made the decision to let her go and stop the suffering. My question is, Can sepsis in a dog develop that rapidly?
Dec. 29, 2017
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
1 Recommendations
Thank you for your email. I am very sorry for your loss, especially so suddenly. One of the causes for low glucose is sepsis, and it does make sense with her history that you gave me and what you described. That did happen very fast with her, but intestinal bacteria can be very nasty when released into the circulation. With her, it doesn't sound like there was very much time to react or start her on treatment. I'm so sorry for your loss, but letting her go was probably the right thing to do.
Dec. 29, 2017
Do you think the sepsis was a combination of the towel, the surgery (which was risky), foreign objects and multiple events of eating dangerous things led to the sepsis? The hard question would be, would have leaving her in the ER make any difference in the progression of the sepsis, it happened so fats. We know she was on a track to eat something that would be detrimental to her. Its hard because we can't be with them 24 hrs a day.
Dec. 29, 2017
Sadie's Owner
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White Shepherd
Zeus
8 Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Diarrhea
Lethargy
Vomiting
Drooling
My dog, estimated to be around eight years old (he was a rescue that we found on the side of the road a year and a half ago) recently had three major surgeries. The first was to remove a tumor in his thyroid gland, the second was to remove a tumor in one of his anal glands, the third was to remove his spleen, which had a massive tumor in it. All three tumors were cancerous. He was able to come home a few days later and seemed to be doing fine. About five days after the surgery, he was really lethargic. He wasn't eating, and seemed to be having a hard time drinking so we took him back to the vet (he had his surgeries done at the University of Georgia vet school). They diagnosed him with a bacterial infection in his throat, where the first tumor was removed. They put a drain in him and sent him home two days later, which was yesterday. He was acting fine when we got him home, which was about 5:15. We fed him dinner a little while later and he seemed fine for another 45 minutes. At about 6:00, he began vomiting severely. Shortly after, he lost control of his bowels. He was laying down in a puddle of diarrhea. We called the UGA vet, and he instructed us to take him to a nearby emergency vet; he didn't think he would make it the 45 minutes to UGA, as his breathing was incredibly shallow and his gums were pale. When we got to the emergency vet, they carried him out of the car and into the office. When they came to update us, they told us his vomiting and diarrhea were still severe and his blood pressure was so low that it couldn't be read. His body temperature was also very low. He was losing fluids as quickly as they put them in. They could not determine the causes but suspected it was sepsis. He started to improve, and they were going to do whatever they could to get him stable enough to make it to UGA. He seemed to be making a turn for the better, so we were going to go home and wait for their call to pick him up and take him to UGA. As we were about to leave, they rushed into the waiting area, asking if we wanted them to do CPR. He was older and in too much pain already, so we told them not to. He died really suddenly. We still are not 100% sure why, so I was hoping you would be able to confirm their suspicions of sepsis, or suggest something else.
Dec. 14, 2017
0 Recommendations
It is difficult to say specifically what caused Zeus to pass away, but the low blood pressure and white gums wouldn’t having been working in his favour as the oxygen carrying ability of the blood would be decreased and the cardiac output would have been too low to provide an adequate supply of oxygen around the body. Blood loss is a common cause of death but, without a necropsy we cannot say specifically what the cause of the death is. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Dec. 14, 2017
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Boxer
Nike
4 months
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Leg Swollen
Leg Swollen Infection
My 4 month old boxer was limping on her leg 5 days ago. I took her to the vet. They did X-rays and gave her a pain medicine and an anti inflammatory. As the days went on she seemed like she wasn’t feeling well still. I took her back to the vet yesterday where they confirmed she had a scrap on her leg that is infected. They kept her overnight on iv fluids. I got a phone call this morning. The infection spread to her boood stream and now they are giving her a stronger dose of antibiotics. Will she make it? When she comes home what kind of care will she needs? Also she has ate very little.
Dec. 3, 2017
0 Recommendations
In these cases aggressive antibiotic therapy and fluid therapy are required, I cannot give you an indication on whether or not she will make it due to there being too many variables which may affect the outcome. Once she is home, you Veterinarian will give you instructions but generally continue any prescribed medication and ensure that she is eating and drinking. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Dec. 3, 2017
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Average Cost
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