Advances in sepsis-associated encephalopathy / 中国小儿急救医学

ABSTRACT

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy is a diffuse brain dysfunction that occurs secondary to infection.It is characterized by alteration of consciousness and cognition,seizure or focal neurological signs.Sepsis-associated encephalopathy is accompanied by abnormalities of electroencephalogram and somatosensoryevoked potentials,increased biomarkers of brain injury and,frequently,by neuroradiological abnormalities.Its diagnosis relies essentially on neurologic examination.Hepatic/uremic encephalopathy,metabolic disturbances,drug overdose,withdrawal syndrome and Wernicke's encephalopathy are the main differential diagnosis of sepsis-associated encephalopathy.Currently,treatment consists mainly of controlling sepsis.Various drugs acting on septic pathophysiology have been tested in septic animals.