Physicians at Houston’s Texas Children’s Hospital have discovered an association between community acquired MRSA and two muscular infections that are common in tropical countries and becoming more frequently found here:
Pyomyositis is an acute bacterial infection of skeletal muscle that produces an abscess within the muscle. Myositis is also a muscle infection, but does not form an abscess.
The study’s authors investigated 45 cases of pyomyositis or myositis in otherwise healthy children hospitalized at the hospital from 2000 through 2005. Sixteen of the cases were caused by CA-MRSA and 10 by CA-MSSA (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus).
We’re seeing an increasing number of muscle infections that is clearly associated with an increase in MRSA, said lead author Dr. Pia Pannaraj. Physicians need to be aware that this is a possibility and consider initial treatment with an antibiotic that covers MRSA, particularly if they live in a region where methicillin resistance is present.
This reinforces that you need to keep in contact with your doctor – if something seems wrong, go get it checked out. You won’t probably have any signs of something like Myositis beyond muscular pain.
I am a 73-year old male. I had MRSA in my left elbow in a Bursa two years ago, and was treated with Vancomycin for it. Here, two years later It has reoccurred and I am scheduled for surgery next week. Prior to the identification of MRSA again, I experienced a lot of muscular pain behind my left knee, and had an extremely swollen toe on my left foot. The swelling looked like a chilblain, but it now appears to be about to erupt. I thought you might like to hear about this because apparently you have only seen these symptoms in children.
A friend had a liver biopsy in October. In November he started having pain in his neck and shoulders that eventually spread down his back. He wound up with MRSA in his spine and spent 2 months with IV antibiotics. After one month fine, he now has it in the muscles and cervical spine in his neck. He`s in surgery now.I think we have a law suit.
Two and a half years later: Surgery on my elbow was successful and no more MRSA; swollen toes was diagnosed as gout–now gone; many pains in legs that wandered all over the place partially-cured by lower-back surgery; other pains in legs diagnosed as tendonosis, but found to be arthritis in knees where bones are grinding together. The latter has been allieviated by cortisone injections but have been informed I’m a very definite candidate for two knee replacements. It hasn’t been a very pleasant two years, but Oh, how good it is to be without pain without painkillers!