Superbugs

[infomama]

This stuff is freaking me out. Probably because we have a surgery scheduled this week but even so....this is scary stuff.
Www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/05/superbugs-infections-hospitals/1965133/

[dogmom]

Somewhat simplified.

As the article says, The superbug tends to strike immune-compromised people who are hospitalized for a long time or living in a nursing home.

It's like the general population freaks out about MRSA being a flesh eating bacteria. Nope, it's just resistant to a couple of antibiotics. Many bacteria can be flesh eating bacteria if you happen to be unlikely.

[crl]

Yes. That does freak me out. Dd needed up admitted to the hospital last summer because the ER doc suspected MRSA. She was put on heavy duty IV antibiotics. Fortunately it was not MRSA. But all these antibiotic resistant infections are very worriesome.

Catherine

[crl]

Somewhat simplified.

As the article says, The superbug tends to strike immune-compromised people who are hospitalized for a long time or living in a nursing home.

It's like the general population freaks out about MRSA being a flesh eating bacteria. Nope, it's just resistant to a couple of antibiotics. Many bacteria can be flesh eating bacteria if you happen to be unlikely.

Right, but the CDC is expressing concern that this may jump to the general population. That's the point of the article.

And dd was neither immune suppressed, nor ill, nor had she been previously admitted to the hospital. Nonetheless the ER doc admitted her for IV antibiotics because he was that concerned about MRSA. So that's not the general public freaking out--that's a doctor assessing the risk was substantial in an otherwise healthy two year old.

Catherine

Catherine

[AngB]

Right, but the CDC is expressing concern that this may jump to the general population. That's the point of the article.

And dd was neither immune suppressed, nor ill, nor had she been previously admitted to the hospital. Nonetheless the ER doc admitted her for IV antibiotics because he was that concerned about MRSA. So that's not the general public freaking out--that's a doctor assessing the risk was substantial in an otherwise healthy two year old.

Catherine

Catherine

I'm not really that sure that MRSA is something to freak out over, though. 3 of my family members have had it, my sister was hospitalized with it (for like 2 days) b/c she had a fever, etc. and this was when it was fairly new, but when my mom had it -she was not hospitalized and it was fine. My uncle who is extremely handicapped and in very poor health (permanent catheter, colostomy, etc.) also had MRSA- don't know the details of it but even he was fine after MRSA.

[crl]

I'm not really that sure that MRSA is something to freak out over, though. 3 of my family members have had it, my sister was hospitalized with it (for like 2 days) b/c she had a fever, etc. and this was when it was fairly new, but when my mom had it -she was not hospitalized and it was fine. My uncle who is extremely handicapped and in very poor health (permanent catheter, colostomy, etc.) also had MRSA- don't know the details of it but even he was fine after MRSA.

Well, I don't think it's anything to obsess about or anything. But when your previously completely healthy two year old is admitted to the hospital and the ER is saying things like, it's really close to her eye and that's an easy route for an infection to get to the brain and this is spreading REALLY fast, so I recommend we admit her for IV antibiotics, I think freaking out a little is warranted.

Catherine

[dogmom]

Right, but the CDC is expressing concern that this may jump to the general population. That's the point of the article.

And dd was neither immune suppressed, nor ill, nor had she been previously admitted to the hospital. Nonetheless the ER doc admitted her for IV antibiotics because he was that concerned about MRSA. So that's not the general public freaking out--that's a doctor assessing the risk was substantial in an otherwise healthy two year old.

Catherine

Catherine

Your doctor should not have put your DD in for IV antibiotics because he "thought it was MRSA". He should have put her in because the symptoms (I don't know what they were) showed an advanced enough infection to warrant IV antibiotics. He could have been right. He could have been a doctor that got overly concerned. Still not impressing me much not knowing the doctor or the symptoms. (I'm not asking you to volunteer information, I've just seen a lot of crappy ER docs in the community in my professional life over two decades.)

And yes, people are colonized with MRSA, they are fine. I've also had people die from MSSA (methicillin susceptible Staph A.)

Just saw your second post, it was the position of the infection that was the issue and it's advanced state, according to the MD.

[crl]

Your doctor should not have put your DD in for IV antibiotics because he "thought it was MRSA". He should have put her in because the symptoms (I don't know what they were) showed an advanced enough infection to warrant IV antibiotics. He could have been right. He could have been a doctor that got overly concerned. Still not impressing me much not knowing the doctor or the symptoms. (I'm not asking you to volunteer information, I've just seen a lot of crappy ER docs in the community in my professional life over two decades.)

And yes, people are colonized with MRSA, they are fine. I've also had people die from MSSA (methicillin susceptible Staph A.)

Just saw your second post, it was the position of the infection that was the issue and it's advanced state, according to the MD.


I am sure you are totally absolutely one hundered percent right. I did not mean to start an argument or a debate about my daughter's medical care.

I just wanted to point out (1) the article specifically references the CDC's concern that the bacteria discussed in the article could jump to the general population. I wanted to point that out because your summary indicated that it is only present in hospitals and the like; and (2) that MRSA is concerning to medical professionals in some circumstances so it is not just the general population freaking out over MRSA.

Catherine

[klwa]

I wouldn't worry too much about it!

My mother passed away due to a MRSA infection in her lungs. It's not something that happens everyday. I'm not going to lie & say I don't think about it when I get a cold, but it's probably not going to get me. Momma had compromised lungs due to a polio infection as a child.

[LizLemon]

There are different kinds of MRSA infections, and different circumstances of those infections, that make them more or less serious. What most people here would encounter is community-acquired MRSA, which is in general much less serious and much less deadly than hospital-acquired MRSA, which ingeneral needs to be treated with IV antibiotics, and even of those is only susceptible to a few IV antibiotics. Hospital-acquired MRSA has much higher rates of bad outcomes and is a much scarier illness.

My other fear is that based on what I have read there are not many antibiotics in the drug development pipeline right now, for various reasons. Hopefully this is just me being anxious and our bright infectious disease minds are working on it. I don't know if our government is adequately funding their work, though.