A41.51: Sepsis: Escherichia coli [E. coli]

You have sepsis (blood poisoning).

Blood poisoning is the most severe outcome of a disorder that has been caused by pathogens. Blood poisoning is also known as sepsis. With this, pathogens or their toxins may spread throughout the body via the blood. If the body’s immune system does not react properly to this, organs and tissue can become damaged. The damage may be extremely severe. It may be impossible to get it under control.

Your sepsis is caused by specific bacteria. These bacteria belong to the group of Escherichia. There are different reasons why pathogens can get into the blood. You can have a different disorder beforehand which was caused by pathogens. Such illnesses may for instance be inflammations of the lungs or abdominal organs.

Blood poisoning makes you very ill. You may become confused and sleepy. You may have a fever and a very fast pulse. Your breathing may also be abnormally fast. Blood poisoning can affect many organs in the body. For example, the kidneys may no longer produce enough urine.

Additional indicator

On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.

  • G: Confirmed diagnosis
  • V: Tentative diagnosis
  • Z: Condition after
  • A: Excluded diagnosis
  • L: Left
  • R: Right
  • B: Both sides

Further information

Note

This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.
Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.

Source

Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).