MRSA Notes

This is another story of an MRSA battle sent in by a reader.  She acquired MRSA from laparoscopic surgery, which infected her bloodstream.  She is lucky and is recovering.  Here is her story:

On Oct 13th of 2004 I went home after having a minor surgery (Laparoscopy). At home during the evening I had tremendous first, nausea, disorientated, tremendous stomach cramps, I could not sleep.  I could not stand the pain and was rushed back to hospital….I now became anxious, hyperventilating…I was admitted to the emergency room, where I fainted.  I was admitted back to the maternity ward here I spent 3 days, which I do not have any memory of.  According to medical records I was feverish, complained of shoulder pain, could not breath, very fast pulse rate, on oxygen, desaturating, blood pressure unstable and low.

I was seen by a heart and lung specialist who sent me to the ICU.  On 16 Oct 2004 I had a laparotomy of 2 1/2 hours long.  I was fully ventilated, on morphine, dormicun and several life supporting machines.  I had about 5 draining bags out of my abdomen, nasogastric tube.  By now I was diagnosed with SEPTICEMIA…

Several blood gases was done and sent away, blood was drawn, X-rays taken, received physiotherapy.  During 18,19 and 20 Oct 2004 my condition became worse, I was very ill, and unstable.  On 21/10 I was taken off the ventilator as it seemed my condition was getting better.  But it did not and I had to be ventilated again.  My pulse rate was at 150-170 beats per minute, my blood sugar peaking up to 12, very low bloodpressure, My condition critical and unstable again.  I was very weak, irritated, sweaty, temperature 38.8, hyperventilating, breathing against the ventilator, very restless.  I had ARDS.  I received 4 units of blood.  On 29 Oct my condition was questioned and unsure of and my condition remained critical. Read the rest of this entry »

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Last year this time, you may remember reading Dream Mom’s dramatic story of her son’s battle with MRSA pnemonia.  I know I do.  She is an unbelievably strong woman, and a beautiful writer.  Anyway, she is reposting her story from last year, so if you haven’t read it, start reading it now.  And keep on reading after she is done, you will want to.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV .

Take care of yourself, Dream Mom, and your Dear Son too - I know you will.  Our prayers are always with you!

dream mom, MRSA, MRSA Blogs, pneumonia

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This is a story of a woman who acquired MRSA in her C-section wound.  Remember these tips when you go into the hospital for any invasive procedure.

I had a baby March 2, 2007. I was is surgery for 3 hours due to excessive bleeding. On March 5th I was released, but the night before that I was have chills and got very sick. I was released but that night I went into emergency (Now it’s March 6th). I had a fever, green fluid leaking from my wound, and a left swollen leg. My ob decided to do nothing and just sent me back home. I layed in bed sick all day, and finally that night I called my ob and told him how high my fever was and how sick I was. He told me that it was because my breast were engorged (I was not breastfeeding). I went to sleep (Now it’s March 7th) I woke up at 3:30 with blood and green fluid all over me and my bed, I screamed for my mom to help and she rushed me to the hospital. My ob came to the ER with the doctor he operated on me with. They opened my wound back up, took a biopsy, and packed it with gauze and admitted me on triple anti-biotics. Later that day tests revealed I had MRSA. I was put in a room by myself, and I was extremely sick. They swiched my anti-biotic to vancomyicin through IV and flagyl by mouth. After a week my temp was still very high, they decided to do x-rays. They found a mass of fluid inside my body (behind my wound). I had a procedure done where they stuck a tube in and removed the fluid, the fluid also turned out to be MRSA. Finally I started getting better. A couple days after I finished my anti-biotics that I was sent home with (zyvox and flagyl) I was back in the emergency room because my mom noticed green in my wound and we could smell an odor coming from it, I was now put on bactrum. My mom had to pack my wound for weeks once I was released from the hospital, so she was put at risk for getting MRSA, and I was told this is something I will now have for the rest of my life. I was also sent to wound care regularly and Infectious Disease as well as appointments with my ob. [source]

She is looking for an attorney to take her case, but most of them won’t touch them, partially because you sign away your rights to litigate for infection by signing a document accepting infection as a known risk when you check in.  What can be done about that?  No idea here.  My mother had a hernia surgery last week, and it just made me ill when the nurse read that to her and made her sign it. 

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 Four year old Caleb Noblitt survived an MRSA infection in his pelvis and spine, and is part of a video on channel 4 in Denver - looking just as vibrant as a little child should.  Bless his heart, I can only imagine what his family has gone through! 

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There is legislation in Illinois that we should keep an eye on - they are trying to pass a bill in the legislature that is accused of being too narrow in focus and not based on scientific evidence (House Bill 378 and Senate Bill 233). Michael O. Vernon, the President of Chicago’s APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control) offers this commentary and suggestion for improvement of the bill:

Instead we support an alternative bill that would cast a wider and more effective net (House Bill 192). This legislation favors a more comprehensive approach toward controlling MRSA as well as a broad spectrum of other multi-drug-resistant organisms that pose equal or greater risk to patients as MRSA.

HB 192 requires hospitals to assess and address annually their most important infection-control problems, including MRSA, through screenings and/or other infection-control measures. In addition, HB 192 addresses not only MRSA acquired within the health-care environment, as HB 378 and SB 233 propose, but community-acquired MRSA as well.

A recent clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health showed no benefit from the routine MRSA screenings in hospital intensive-care units that are proposed as part of HB 378 and SB 233. Scientific research also shows that a focus on a single strain of bacteria does not improve the overall safety of patients.

In the Netherlands, the country most often cited for developing the “search and destroy” approach to MRSA, low rates of MRSA have been achieved while overall hospital-acquired infection rates remain similar to or greater than U.S. rates.

We urge lawmakers to support HB 192, legislation that is scientifically sound and in the best interests of patients. HB 378 and SB 233 meet neither of these objectives. [source]

His position is supported by the CDC, APIC, SHEA and the IHA MRSA Task Force. I hope the legislators will listen to them. I am encouraged though that Illinois seems to be trying to take a stand and clean things up (see the earlier Illinois tattoo shop story) - lets do it the right way the first time though.

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I mentioned the GeneXpert system a couple of weeks ago, when it was approved by the FDA, and now I am happy to say that the the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, TX has announced that they are the first hospital in TX and in the VA to install it.

“A key factor with this new system is now we have ‘on-demand’
capabilities. Testing can occur at any time, on any day. This quick
turn-around will give us actionable results in minutes and will decrease
the window for potential transmission of MRSA,” said Patricia A. Byers,
R.M., M.(A.S.C.P.), C.I.C., MEDVAMC Infection Control practitioner.

When my hubby had MRSA septicemia, it took a full two days to get the results back on what organism it was, so this is an important system, and one that if you are in a position to lobby your hospitals for, do it.

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Hmm. It is interesting to me how Mother Nature holds the secrets to taking care of us. Sometimes all of the artifical compounds in the world don’t hold a candle to something already here on this earth.

This isn’t the answer to MRSA yet - it remains to be seen - but researchers have developed a new treatment that kills MRSA made from a protien secreted from a species of American Bullfrogs. This protein called ranalexin is combined with an enzyme, lysostaphin, and have a “potent and significant” effect on MRSA.

The research team has applied for more grants so they can continue their research, so here’s hoping they have found something significant.

[source]

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This is a hard story to refute - three young men all got tattoos together at Lil Smitty’s, a Blue Island, Illinois tattoo parlor, and all three broke out with MRSA staph infections all over their brand new art. Illinois is soon going to be implimenting a new law for tattooing shops that will require them to be certified and inspected annually, but for now, they are not, and this is true for the most part across the country. If you must go have a tattoo, which I don’t recommend these days (and I have two myself, so I am not a tattoo prude…lol), follow these guidelines:

1. Look at the shop - does it look dirty? Tattoo shops should be as clean as a doctors office. Remember this is an invasive procedure. If they don’t even bother to try to make it look clean, then don’t bother getting a tattoo there.

2. Get recommendations from friends - don’t drink too much and decide its time to get a tattoo and stop in at the first place you see. Take some time to check out the place. Googleit.

3. Observe the artists at work. Do they wear gloves? Do they take care not to touch anything while their gloves are on? Is their working area a mess? Are they eating/drinking/smoking while they are working? If so, move along.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask about their santitation procedures. If they are rude about answering, do not pass go, do not collect your $200, just leave. If they are impressed that you care about these things, and are happy to tell you, then they probably care enough about you to take care of you. Probably.

5. Be sure they swab your skin with alcohol before they begin, and be sure you have showered recently too. You can’t get enough bacteria off your body before someone starts poking you with needles.

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Jarvis Moss, the first round draft pick of the Denver Broncos, suffered a staph infection two years ago that brings back memories of our ordeal, and might for you too:

If I showed you film of what he was like the first spring — he was 215 pounds,” said Meyer, who became Florida’s coach two years ago. “To become a first-rounder, and well deserved, help us win a national championship, that’s one of the great success stories, in my opinion, of college football in the last 10 years.”

Getting drafted is an emotional experience for most players, maybe more so for Moss because of his ordeal. He said he woke up early before the NFL draft Saturday and cried, trying to get the tears out before his family saw him. When the Broncos called and told him he’d be the 17th overall pick he couldn’t help it; he broke down again. [Source]

Aww, that makes me so happy for him, even though I *strongly dislike* the Gators (I just had to say that). Way to go Jarvis - I am so happy for you!!

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Have any of you tried this product yet? The Invisible Armor is a triclosan based product designed for households and all sorts of other businesses where you would come in contact with other folks as well as germs from other sources. The Invisible Armor is a skin protectant, with the primary benefit of protecting you from germs, and the primary feature is that it remains on your skin for 4 hours, through repeated washings. Here is a bit more about the product:

The ingredient Triclosan combined with liquid silicone (Dimethicone), the mono-oxide of silicone, incorporated with a specific antioxidant and premier moisturizing formula, creates a shield of protection from germs while offering a supple feel to the skin. The Invisible Armor provides this protection for up to (4) hours with no reduced protection due to repeated washing. However, substances containing an available oxygen molecule (peroxide, sulfuric acid, etc.) will donate additional oxygen and convert the silicone to a dioxide. Although protection is still prevalent, reapplication is required to offer the best results of protection.

The Invisible Armor is available over the counter at Kroger’s, HEB, Walgreens, Brookshire Brothers and other locations. Let me know if you have tried this!

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