A41.9: Sepsis, unspecified

You have sepsis (blood poisoning).

The body’s immune system reacts to bacteria and toxic substances. With blood poisoning, they can spread throughout the body via the blood. The immune system is usually closely controlled. With blood poisoning, these controls do not work properly. As a result, the functioning of organs in the body is disrupted.

Pathogens have gotten into your blood. There are various kinds of pathogens. These include bacteria or fungi, for example. There are various causes why pathogens can get into the blood. A very common reason is another prior illness that was caused by pathogens. Such illnesses may for instance be inflammations of the lungs or abdominal organs.

Because many organs can be damaged by blood poisoning, you can have many different symptoms. You will feel very sick. For example, you may have a high fever. Your heart may beat very fast, which sometimes results in very rapid breathing. For example, the kidneys or liver may no longer work properly. The brain may also no longer be able to work properly. You might be very tired or even fall unconscious. Sepsis is a severe illness.

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).