Quote:
Originally Posted by DocIllinois
Once the haematogenous route starts distributing that bacteria, funky heart stuff which can be detected by auscultation or seen on a strip will not likely appear before the pyogenic infection goes symptomatic in the spine.
That's the "working" part of the diagnosis - counting on the facts of my hypothesis lining up in an expected way because of an extremely limited access to tests which confirm.
Okie's right - sepsis is a real concern with the way things are working out, and potent one.
|
Alright, so what you're saying is that the patient had/has bacteremia secondary to the dental procedure, and now has osteomyelitis secondary to the bacteremia. The presumptive diagnosis in that case is osteomyelitis. Endocarditis is another possible and highly concerning complication of bacteremia, and yes clinically silent endocarditis is possible. Aggressive screening for endocarditis moving forward is absolutely warranted. However, I think calling it the presumptive diagnosis is a bit of a stretch, and endocarditis is definitely not causing the osteomyelitis in this case.
Since we're talking about sepsis as a possible complication, what is it and how would we recognize it?