Body-wide infection causing organ dysfunction

• A. Sepsis
• B. SIRS
• C. Septic Shock
• D. Hypotension in Sepsis

Answer: (A)

Sepsis is infection that triggers a body-wide, dysregulated response leading to organ dysfunction. The key idea is that the infection drives a systemic process that harms organs such as the lungs, kidneys, liver, brain, and coagulation system. This distinguishes sepsis from a simple infection or from a noninfectious systemic inflammatory response. Septic shock is a more severe subset where the patient remains hypotensive despite fluids and requires vasopressors, often with high lactate. Hypotension can occur in sepsis but isn’t by itself the defining feature, since not all sepsis cases involve persistent low blood pressure. So the description best matches sepsis because it combines infection with the resulting organ dysfunction.