Alberta Health Services Practice Test

Sepsis describes a dangerous, systemic reaction to an infection, often involving the blood. When infection enters the bloodstream or spreads through the body, the body's immune response can become dysregulated, leading to widespread inflammation, poor blood flow, organ dysfunction, and, in severe cases, septic shock. This combination—an infection with a life-threatening bodily response—is what people mean by a dangerous infection of the blood, making sepsis the most appropriate term.

Arrhythmia is a problem with the heart’s rhythm, not an infection. Edema is swelling from fluid buildup, which can occur for many reasons and isn’t about an infection of the blood. Myringitis is an infection or inflammation of the eardrum, which is localized and not the systemic, potentially life-threatening condition described by sepsis.