Many who do survive are left with life-changing effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain and fatigue, organ dysfunction (organs don’t work properly), and/or amputations. Worldwide, one-third of people who develop sepsis die. Like strokes or heart attacks, sepsis is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. Sepsis and septic shock can result from an infection anywhere in the body, such as pneumonia, influenza, or urinary tract infections. Sepsis, which was often called blood poisoning, is the body’s life-threatening response to infection. DIC affects about 35% of patients who have sepsis.

Several medical conditions can cause DIC, including sepsis. The body uses up so many of the blood clotting proteins for the multiple blood clots in the blood vessels that there are not enough left to clot the blood elsewhere. On the reverse side of the cycle, DIC can increase bleeding. This blood flow brings oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. Small blood clots can develop throughout your bloodstream, especially in the microscopic blood vessels called capillaries, blocking the blood flow to many parts of your body, including your limbs and your organs.

Both blood clotting and difficulty with clotting may occur, causing a vicious cycle. Disseminated intravascular coagulation, or DIC, is a complicated condition that can occur when someone has severe sepsis or septic shock.

Systemic shock