Patient lecture

A patient with toxic shock syndrome and multi-organ failure

Annemieke Oude Lansink-Hartgring MD PhD

Doortje Adema – sepsis survivor

Sepsis is a dysregulated and severe immune response to infection. While most infections are self-limiting and resolve with or without treatment, a subset progresses to sepsis. The most severe manifestation, septic shock, is characterised by profound circulatory failure, including a significant drop in blood pressure, leading to impaired tissue perfusion and reduced delivery of oxygen to vital organs. This can result in extensive organ damage. As a life-threatening condition, sepsis requires immediate recognition and prompt treatment to reduce mortality and long-term morbidity.

Three years ago, a 36-year-old woman named Doortje, who initially presented with viral symptoms, developed pneumonia and experienced rapid clinical deterioration, necessitating admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). This patient lecture explores Doortje’s clinical course, including the progression to multi-organ failure, the intensive supportive therapies administered in the ICU, and her subsequent recovery trajectory.

Activities of daily living such as brushing one’s teeth or combing one’s hair are often taken for granted. However, ICU-acquired weakness following septic shock, in combination with ICU delirium, resulted in prolonged functional dependence for Doortje.

Currently, Doortje and her partner are highly motivated to raise public awareness of the early warning signs of sepsis. Through this lecture, Doortje also aims to increase awareness among medical students of the long-term physical and cognitive consequences of septic shock and critical illness, and their impact on daily life after ICU discharge.

Click here to read more about Doortje’s story!