Blood poisoning poses an additional health challenge as it increases the risk of blood clots, a new study finds.
Statistics show that 10,000 people are hospitalized due to blood poisoning and another 3,000 are infected while being hospitalized for some other illness. Researchers found that many of them succumb to their illness because blood poising also increases the risk of blood clots.
For the new study, researchers followed 4,389 patients that were hospitalized between 1992 and 2011.
"We have followed more than 4,000 people who have been admitted with blood poisoning. The study shows that the risk of suffering a blood clot in either the brain or the heart is twice as high for patients with blood poisoning in relation to other patients who are also admitted with acute illnesses," said Michael Dalager-Pedersen , PhD student at Aarhus University, in a press statement.
Researchers found that the risk of a blood clot was 3.6 percent higher during the first thirty days of blood poisoning compared to 1.7 percent for the other acutely ill patients.
The authors of this study reasoned that the blood clots arise due to the increased strain on the heart and blood vessels that the infection causes.
Researchers of this study hope that the findings can help prevent the illness as well as develop better treatments for the future.
"It is important that we have now documented that there is a clear correlation between blood poisoning and blood clots. The new knowledge can be used by the medical doctors to increase focus on this patient group so they can begin relevant treatment quicker," said Reimar Wernich Thomsen from the Department of Clinical Epidemiology at Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital.
The study was published online in the journal Circulation.
