Note that they were studying a mouse model of sepsis, which is a full-blown blood-borne bacterial infection that is certainly fatal in humans as often as not. Today this is treated by antibiotic injection and is rarely fatal if caught early, but likely this process is something like a last-ditch defense against the invading bacteria. Sequesting iron after blood cell lysis might inhibit bacterial growth but probably also means it's harder for the remaining blood cells to deliver oxygen to and pick up CO2 from important cells like those in the heart and brain, and it might mess up other basic metabolic processes. Hence this probably isn't something that gets triggered too easily, or which plays much of a role in mild illnesses. It might also be a counter-productive response in some viral illnesses.
Anyone who thinks they might be in the early stages of sepsis should seek immediate medical attention in an emergency room. This happened to me once, after foolishly swimming in the ocean after getting a deep cut on my leg - which swelled up to half again its normal size with long red streaks shooting up the whole length of the leg. Two big shots of rifampicin in each buttock and a week spent in bed with a course of some other oral antibiotics and I was fine, but in the pre-antibiotic era that might not have been the case!
> "Early sepsis is characterized by the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) - tachycardia, tachypnea, fever (over 100.4 F or 38oC) or hypothermia (below 96.8 F or 36oC), and leukopenia or leukocytosis."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-022-00723-5
Note that they were studying a mouse model of sepsis, which is a full-blown blood-borne bacterial infection that is certainly fatal in humans as often as not. Today this is treated by antibiotic injection and is rarely fatal if caught early, but likely this process is something like a last-ditch defense against the invading bacteria. Sequesting iron after blood cell lysis might inhibit bacterial growth but probably also means it's harder for the remaining blood cells to deliver oxygen to and pick up CO2 from important cells like those in the heart and brain, and it might mess up other basic metabolic processes. Hence this probably isn't something that gets triggered too easily, or which plays much of a role in mild illnesses. It might also be a counter-productive response in some viral illnesses.
Anyone who thinks they might be in the early stages of sepsis should seek immediate medical attention in an emergency room. This happened to me once, after foolishly swimming in the ocean after getting a deep cut on my leg - which swelled up to half again its normal size with long red streaks shooting up the whole length of the leg. Two big shots of rifampicin in each buttock and a week spent in bed with a course of some other oral antibiotics and I was fine, but in the pre-antibiotic era that might not have been the case!
> "Early sepsis is characterized by the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) - tachycardia, tachypnea, fever (over 100.4 F or 38oC) or hypothermia (below 96.8 F or 36oC), and leukopenia or leukocytosis."
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Everything-You-Need-To-K...