Re: Staph Infection?

Question

What is the mortality rate for a 21 year old with a staph infection in the bloodstream. (Contracted initially 3 years ago in the arm from a very large {illegal} tatoo.) She's already been having problems with bronchial cough off and on for a year. She keeps her skin clean, and when there is a small "flare up" of infection on the skin, she's pretty aggressive about keeping it clean with rubbing alcohol.

I didn't know this was so serious. Please help with any info.
Graciousness.

I understand how serious this is. This is my little sister I am referring to. She is in the Army on a base in Germany.... I just found out that her recruiter had her LIE about the infection, say it doesn't exist, so she may be enrolled in Army Basic Training.

She was in a hospital for a week early last year on antibiotics. They explained to her the severity of this.

Can nothing be done if the infection is in the bloodstream? She's been alright for a while now. Currently having problems with some tissue or nerve pain in both thumbs where they meet the palm.

Answer 1

Staphylococcus is group of bacteria, familiarly known as Staph, that can (and do) cause a multitude of diseases. Staph bacteria can cause illness directly by infection (such as in the skin)or indirectly through products they make such as toxins responsible for food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.
The name "Staphylococcus" comes from the Greek staphyle meaning a bunch of grapes + kokkos meaning berry, and that is exactly what Staph look like under the microscope, like a bunch of grape or little round berries. (In technical terms, these are gram-positive, facultative anaerobic, usually unencapsulated cocci.)

What are complications of Staph infections?

Staph infection can be simple and localized, such as with impetigo of the skin. It can, however, become widespread, by infecting the blood. It can thereby seed to various areas of the body. This spreading occurs more commonly in persons with abnormally suppressed immune systems. Scalded skin syndrome is a potentially serious side effect of infection with the Staph (Staphylococcus) bacteria that produces a specific protein which loosens the "cement" holding the various layers of the skin together. This allows blister formation and sloughing of the top layer of skin. If it occurs over large body regions it can be deadly (just like a large surface area of the body having been burned). It is necessary to treat scalded skin syndrome with intravenous antibiotics and to protect the skin from allowing dehydration to occur if large areas peel off. The disease occurs predominantly in children under 5 years of age. It is known formally as Staphyloccoccal scalded skin syndrome and as Ritter disease.

Treatment and the development of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance in S. aureus was almost unknown when penicillin was first introduced in 1943; indeed, the original petri dish on which Alexander Fleming observed the antibacterial activity of the penicillium mould was growing a culture of S. aureus. By 1950, 40% of hospital S. aureus isolates were penicillin reisistant; and by 1960, this had risen to 80%.[1]

Today, S. aureus has become resistant to many commonly used antibiotics. In the UK, only 2% of all S. aureus isolates are sensitive to penicillin with a similar picture in the rest of the world. The β-lactamase resistant penicillins (methicillin, oxacillin, cloxacillin and flucloxacillin) were developed to treat penicillin-resistant S. aureus and are still used as first-line treatment. Methicillin was the first antibiotic in this class to be used (it was introduced in 1959), but only two years later, the first case of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was reported in England.[2] Despite this, MRSA generally remained an uncommon finding even in hospital settings until the 1990's when there was an explosion in MRSA prevalence in hospitals where it is now endemic.[3]

First line treatment for MRSA is currently glycopeptide antibiotics (vancomycin and teicoplanin). There are number of problems with these antibiotics, mainly centred around the need for intravenous administration (there is no oral preparation available), toxicity and the need to monitor drug levels regularly by means of blood tests. There are also concerns that glycopeptide antibiotics do not penetrate very well into infected tissues (this is a particular concern with infections of the brain and meninges and in endocarditis). Glycopeptides must not be used to treat methicillin-sensitive S. aureus as outcomes are inferior. [4]

In situations where the incidence of MRSA infections is known to be high, the attending physician may choose to use a glycopeptide antibiotic until the identity of the infecting organism is known. When the infection is confirmed to be due to a methicillin-susceptible strain of S. aureus, then treatment can be changed to flucloxacillin or even penicillin as appropriate.

Vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) is a strain of S. aureus that has become resistant to the glycopeptides. The first case of vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA) was reported in Japan in 1996;[5] but the first case of S. aureus truly resistant to glycopeptide antibiotics was only reported in 2002.[6] Three cases of VRSA infection have been reported in the United States.[7]
Mechanisms of antibiotic resistance

For more details on this topic, see Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcal resistance to penicillin and cephalosporins is mediated by β-lactamase production: enzymes which break down the β-lactam ring of the penicillin molecule. β-lacatamase-resistant penicillins such as methicillin, oxacillin, cloxacillin and flucloxacillin are able to resist degradation by staphylococcal β-lacatamase.

The mechanism of resistance to methicillin is by the acquisition of the mecA gene, which codes for an altered penicillin-binding protein (ABP) that fails to bind β-lactams (penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems).

Glycopeptide resistance is mediated by acquisition of the vanA gene. The vanA gene originates from the enterococci and codes for an enzyme that produces an alternative peptidoglycan that vancomycin will not bind to.

Answer 2

Why do you think your infection is advanced into her bloodstream? If it has she can have real problems including death if not treated. tattoo shops are the number 2 place to catch an infection called MRSA, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aurerus. This is a very serious infection because it's almost impossible to get rid of.
MRSA is indicated by recurrent boils that spread when not treated imeadiatly. If your friend suspects she has a staph infection that won't go away, I would get to an infectious disease doctor ASAP. The sooner treated, the better the outcome.
MRSA is an infectious disease. It's spread through body fluids. An open boil or sore can infect anyone who touches it. Be very careful and wash your hands. Wash clothes in bleach and hot, hot water with soap. Wash hands frequently.Showers or baths that are shared should be washed with bleach.
The mortality rate depends on how it's treated and the strenth of the person infected. I know people who have caught it in the hospital that have died of complications and others that have gone outbreak free for years.
MRSA is treated according to what strain it is. It can be sensitive to different antibiotics but the culter needs to be taken by a doctor and tested. I was treated with Vancomyicin and Rimfamin. I've been out break free for 8 years, thank God.
Please get her to a doctor and try to get a culture done. Good luck

Answer 3

She should have gone to the hospital as soon as she got the staph infection. She should go to a doctor and see if they will prescribe her an antibiotic by the name of clindamycin. I'm not sure of the spelling. But my son had a staph infection and it took a month and a half of that antibiotic to clear up the infection. Keep in mind she will always be a carrier of the infection but she shouldn't be having "flare ups" of it as consistently as she has. Also...it is really helpful for her to bathe in hot water with bleach. If she fills up the bath tub she should put about a quarter of the bottle of bleach in it. Be sure that the part of her body that was initially infected is completely submerged in the bleach water and tell her to soak for about an hour each day for about a week. She does need to take care of it though...fast!

Answer 4

Any signs of complication from a Staphylococcus infection needs to be seen by the Doctor. You cannot give it time asking questions on Yahoo Answers. This is really serious.

Answer 5

Very high. She needs to report current problems to her doctor. She may need oral and or IV antibiotics. SEPSIS kills with all of your organs failing this is a gruesome death. You cannot kill a staph in fection in the blood with rubbing alcohol. She probably needs blood cultures to identify the strain of staph and then proper antibiotic therapy.

Answer 6

Septicemia can be lethal, of course...however, you would be dead by now, ..if it had not been cured. I have lost two friends to septic shock..and it is blood poisoning, and very dangerous.....the aftermath has nothing really to do with the initial infection, for real...these are just opportunist ailments and have nothing to do with the other. But it is always good to keep on top of them