Acetaminophen Toxicity or Sepsis?

Dear Ask The Doctor: My husband passed away nearly two years ago, after being diagnosed with septic shock. The cultures never grew any bacteria, though he had been on antibiotics prescribed by his doctor for two weeks prior. He had a high fever (104) which he treated with Tylenol. He had eaten and drank very little that day. He took a dose of Tylenol, 2 500mg tablets, at 7p, Tramodol for severe back pain at 2a, and Tylenol again at 7a. By 4p he started shaking uncontrollably and I noticed that his skin and eyes were yellow. I raced him to the hospital and he was diagnosed with septic shock. His body temp was below normal by now and he was already in multi-organ failure, liver, kidneys, circulatory system. Could this have been caused by acetaminophen toxicity or do I trust the diagnosis of septic shock? I am still so heartbroken by this and wonder if a different diagnosis might have saved him...

Dear Dany: This seems more likely to be a case of overdosing on acetaminophen thus leading to the symptoms that your husband presented with. However since he did have an infection and was on antibiotics the toxicity further deteriorated his condition and lead to the uneventful outcome and septic shock. I hope this helps and I am sorry about your loss.