ROGERSVILLE — Hawkins County Emergency Medical Services has approved a new protocol to treat sepsis with antibiotics on-scene, before the patient arrives at the hospital. The Hawkins County EMS Sepsis Protocol allows EMS responders to administer Zosyn, an antibiotic, to a patient who is showing symptoms of sepsis. Captain Samuel McMurry, training coordinator of Hawkins County EMS, said some of the symptoms include increased body temperature, increased respiratory rate, altered mental status and respiratory failure.
“It’s a real important thing to recognize early,” McMurry said. Sepsis is life-threatening and is a response to an infection in the body, according to a news release. Sepsis kills more people than heart attacks and strokes combined, McMurry said.
“This new protocol will allow our dedicated EMS personnel to administer antibiotics to septic patients while en route to the hospital, which could ultimately save lives,” the release stated. McMurry said last year, sepsis cases were “quite frequent” in Hawkins County and estimated the cases were approximately one-fourth of the runs EMS had. The Hawkins County EMS will be the first emergency service in the area using this new protocol, McMurry said.
He pursued approval of the treatment because he had some patients that would have benefitted from it. “The quicker you can identify steps to submit the antibiotics on board, the better their chances are for survival,” McMurry said. “Every hour it goes by wi.