Wiktionary
n. (context pathology English) a life-threatening condition caused by infection and sepsis, often after surgery or trauma
Wikipedia
Septic shock is a serious medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism. The primary infection is most commonly by bacteria, but can also be by fungi, viruses, or parasites, and can be located in any part of the body, but most commonly in the lungs, brain, urinary tract, skin, or abdominal organs. It can cause multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (formerly known as multiple organ failure) and death. Its most common victims are children, immunocompromised individuals, and the elderly, as their immune systems cannot deal with infection as effectively as those of healthy adults. Frequently, patients suffering from septic shock are cared for in intensive care units. The mortality rate from septic shock is approximately 25–50%.
Usage examples of "septic shock".
After I recovered from septic shock and was no longer in danger of imminent death, I lived for months with the expectation that what I had endured might trigger one of the neurological problems related to XP.
The theme of orphans no longer spoke to me- Shortly before The League of Night and Fog was published in 1987, my fifteen-year-old son, Matthew, died from septic shock as the consequence of an infection he had suffered after a bone-marrow transplant that, it was hoped, would cure his out-of-control bone cancer.