Can you die or lose a limb if MRSA spreads to your bones?

Question

My father is in the hospital and has been diagnosed with MRSA. It went untreated for 5 days and has spread from his skin into the bone of his foot. He has swelling of the feet, legs, groin, etc. They have drain about a cup of pus out of his foot yesterday and today and informed us that if they couldn't remove all of the pus in the next 2 days that they are going to amputate the foot and possibly part of the leg. We don't know what to do and he hasn't been getting the best care at this treatment center he is in. I just need to know how serious this actually is.

Answer 1

Diagnosing MRSA of the skin/bones isn't as easy as it sounds.
While MRSA is getting more common, patients aren't generally treated for it unless there is a good reason to suspect it. The 5 days may have been the turn around for the results of a culture.

Once MRSA gets into the bone, it's usually necessary to amputate above the level of the infection. Most antibiotics penetrate very poorly into bone, including vancomycin.

Answer 2

How come an RN nurse has never heard of a skin MRSA infection??

Im afraid that this is a very serious infection; The infection has penetrated all the way through the tissue, and the doctors are right to say that if it does not clear up soon that they need to amputate to stop it from spreading. Make sure the doctors are treating the MRSA with intravenous vancomycin and/or teicoplanin.

On another note - If the hospital diagnosed your dad with MRSA infection, and then didn't treat it for 5 days, there is a serious case of malpractice to answer.

Answer 3

Mrsa In Bones

Answer 4

MRSA is usually in the urine, stool, sputum, or blood. I have never heard of it in the bone, or skin. Does he have any other problems? Like diabetes? Either way, if they think that amputation is necessary, if that is what he wants,( your dad) then you should go with that. Keep in mind your dads feelings about this though because loosing a limb is very difficult for the patient.
As far as getting better care, you could transfer him to a different, or better hospital, if you have insurance. It sounds like, unfortunately, he is past any point of hope from the infection, but in a better facility perhaps he will get better care from here on out and not get any further serious infections from the MRSA. Good luck to you and your family.

Answer 5

They should not be having chicken bones unless they are raw. Cooked chicken bones can splinter and cause untold damage to the dog's intestines and can also get stuck in between the dog's teeth and tear his mouth. I don't think I'd risk losing a limb or two in trying to retrieve the bones from a Rottie, unless you can trust him 100%. He should never been given them in the first place.