Septicemia Is Not Clearly Defined

A term septicemia may cause a lot of confusion; for some it refers to bacteremia (presence of bacteria in the bloodstream) and for others it refers to sepsis (bacteremia + blood inflammation). Since a term septicemia is still widely used, a reader should be aware of its two possible meanings in different health articles.

Blood Poisoning Is Not An Appropriate Term

To ad to the confusion, a term blood poisoning is often used as a synonym for septicemia (or sepsis). Poisoning can be caused by substances other than those released by microbes, while sepsis is always caused by microbes, so a term blood infection is preferable as an informal name for sepsis.

Bacteremia – Definition

Bacteremia (from bacteria + Latin suffix -emia = blood related) is the presence of the bacteria in the bloodstream (1).

Bacteremia is not the same as septicemia (sepsis), which is bacteremia accompanied with an inflammation in the blood.

Both Gram-positive bacteria, like staphylococci or streptococci, or Gram-negative bacteria, like Bacteroides, may be involved in bacteremia.

continue reading What Is Bacteremia – Causes and Symptoms