Maternal Sepsis
Recorded On: 05/15/2019
Description:
Sepsis is the second leading cause of preventable pregnancy-related deaths in the United States. During pregnancy, childbirth, post-abortion, or the post-partum period, people are susceptible to infection as their immune system is down-regulated to protect the growing fetus. Infection may give rise to sepsis if not identified and treated promptly. However, pregnancy-related septic shock is rare. Healthcare providers need to know the signs of pregnancy-related sepsis as well as how to screen for sepsis in the hospital for early recognition and treatment. You will learn about pregnancy-related sepsis recognition and treatment and how to begin the campaign to stop pregnancy-related sepsis in your facility. In addition, Grace Ramirez, a L&D RN will present her story as a septic shock survivor.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the activity, the learner should be able to:
- Define the global issue of pregnancy-related mortality surrounding sepsis;
- Explain community standard for adjusted SIRS criteria;
- Restate the treatment recommendations for pregnancy-related sepsis;
- Describe the algorithm for perinatal screening program;
- Recall the postpartum sepsis survivor experience from the patient’s perspective.
Target Audience:
Nurses, advanced practice providers, physicians, emergency responders, pharmacists, medical technologists, respiratory therapists, physical/occupational therapists, infection prevention specialists, data/quality specialists, and more.
Lori Olvera, DNP, RNC-OB, EFM-C
Perinatal Educator
Sutter Medical Center
Lori has been a nurse for over 35 years and practiced most of her career in women’s health including labor and delivery, mother-baby and special care nursery. Lori was an educator for various colleges and universities for 20 years and is currently a Clinical Nurse Educator for High Risk Maternity and Labor & Delivery at Sutter Medical Center Sacramento. Lori received a Doctor of Clinical Practice in 2015. Her doctoral work centered around implementing standard work and interprofessional education for early recognition and management of maternal sepsis which was published in 2016 Nursing for Women’s Health. She presents at California conferences to raise sepsis awareness and to help hospitals implement sepsis screening for early recognition of maternal sepsis. Lori collaborated with Center for Disease Control, Society of Critical Medicine, American Nurses Association, and Association of Women Health and Newborn Nursing in a webinar on early recognition and management of maternal sepsis.
Katarina Lannér-Cusin, MD, FACOG
Medical Director, Women’s Services
Sutter Health, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Dr. Katarina Lannér-Cusin is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Berkeley, California and is affiliated with Alta Bates Summit Medical Center-Berkeley. She received her medical degree and completed her residency in OB Gyn at University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years. She was part of the implementation team for the Sepsis Initiative at Sutter Health. She is presently the Medical Director for Women’s Services at ABSMC and also the co-chair for the Sutter OB Quality Committee.
Graciela Eldridge, RN, ADN
Maternal Sepsis Survivor
Sepsis Alliance
As a septic shock survivor, Graciela reminds us, "There are moments in our life who define who we are, that moment was when I coded and almost died of septic shock". Graciela has been a Perinatal nurse for 29 years. She has practiced most of her career as a Labor and Delivery nurse. In her early nursing career, she was an educator for University of Davis Medical Center, with an emphasis in cultural diversity in child bearing and child rearing practices of women. She worked for Woodland Memorial Hospital as community Lamaze instructor. Graciela has worked for the past 21 years at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento hospital. She is currently a Staff IV RN. She is an advanced preceptor in Labor and Delivery and her specialty is in the OR working with mothers having Cesarean Sections. She also has worked as the Neonatal Resuscitation Program educator for the past 12 years. Graciela has a passion to educate the medical community about early recognition of maternal sepsis.
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP17068 for 2.2 contact hours.
Other healthcare professionals will receive a certificate of attendance for 1.75 contact hours.
Medical Disclaimer
The information on or available through this site is intended for educational purposes only. Sepsis Alliance does not represent or guarantee that information on or available through this site is applicable to any specific patient’s care or treatment. The educational content on or available through this site does not constitute medical advice from a physician and is not to be used as a substitute for treatment or advice from a practicing physician or other healthcare professional. Sepsis Alliance recommends users consult their physician or healthcare professional regarding any questions about whether the information on or available through this site might apply to their individual treatment or care.