The family of a Dublin teenager who died from sepsis nearly seven years ago are aiming to spread awareness about the life-threatening condition.
Sepsis impacts more than 14,000 people in Ireland every year and around 3,000 people die from the condition.
Sean Hughes, also known by his rapper name ‘Lil Red’, died from sepsis aged 15 in 2018.
The teenager, who was from Finglas, had performed at Croke Park, the Aviva Stadium and the National Concert Hall.
“He was a young, fit, healthy man with no underlying health conditions,” his father Joe Hughes said.
“He was going to go on to do great things.”
On Monday 8 January 2018, Sean came home from school with flu-like symptoms. His mother Karen took him to their GP that Wednesday, where he was given treatment for a chest infection.
On Thursday evening, when watching television with his mother, Sean suddenly stopped talking and became unresponsive.
Karen called Joe into the room, who performed CPR on Sean while they waited for the paramedics to arrive. He was then taken to Temple Street Hospital.
“It was all a shock to us,” Joe said. “The doctors were asking us in the hospital what had happened to him.”
Sean’s health deteriorated quickly, and he died in the Intensive Care Unit in Temple Street on Friday 12 January.
Sean’s family had never heard of sepsis until his death.
“As you can imagine we wanted to find out what we could about this word, sepsis, that took our son’s life.
“We were shocked at the lack of awareness especially in Ireland (about sepsis), we had to do our research in the UK and the US.”
Sean’s family set up the ‘Lil Red’ Sepsis Awareness Campaign because they felt there was so little information about the condition.
“Me and my wife Karen now live by the words ‘what if’,” Joe said.
“What if we knew more about sepsis? What if the medical professionals dealing with Sean knew more about sepsis? Things might be so different.”
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GPs update sepsis guidelines
The Irish College of General Practitioners have released new guidelines for their members on treating adult sepsis.
The Medical Director of the Irish College of GPs and one of the authors of the General Practice Update, Dr Diarmuid Quinlan, said that the document aims to promote sepsis awareness in primary care and to promote vaccination as an essential part of sepsis prevention.
“Sepsis can affect anyone,” Dr Quinlan said.
“Some are particularly vulnerable such as the very young, the very old and people with certain health conditions who are immunocompromised.”
What is sepsis? Here are the signs to look for
Sepsis can start off like any other infection, Dr Quinlan explained, which is why it is so difficult for GPs to spot. However, the symptoms get worse quickly, so it is important that patients monitor their illness and let their doctor know if they feel worse.
Dr Quinlan, who is a practicing GP in Clonlara in Cork, said that it is difficult for GPs to spot sepsis so it is important for patients to know of the risks themselves and be aware of sepsis.
GPs cannot treat sepsis themselves, so they send the patient to the emergency department with a “possible sepsis” referral so that the hospital can give the patient a blood test and provide treatment.
According to the HSE report on sepsis for 2023, the in-hospital mortality rate for sepsis in 2023 has decreased when compared to the 2022 data (19.3% compared with 21.8%).
Early signs of sepsis in adults and older children:
- A high temperature (38C or above); low body temperature (below 36C)
- Chills and shivering
- A fast heartbeat
- Problems with or changes to your breathing
- Feeling or acting differently from normal
- Vomiting
- A headache
- Feeling unwell
