Serratia Bone Infection - Infectious Diseases Message Board

aaelrefaie · 08-01-2003, 10:27 PM

3 weeks ago, I woke up with a sharp pain in my hip. After a couple days, I couldn't walk, and went to the hospital. A week later, I was admitted, and doctors tried frantically to find out what I had. A blood culture revealed I had Serratia in my bloodstream. After a few days on IV, the fevers I was having subsided, but the pain was not diagnosed.

After MRI, X-Ray, Heart Echo, the doctors were still stumped. However, it wasn't till a WBC Scan that they saw WBC's accumulating around my hip area, which they called the reason for the pain. They said the Serratia was infecting a part of my hip. I was given Cipro 750 because they said IV was not necesary. It has been one week and the pain is still the same.

If anyone has any information on bone infections at all, please update me. Thank you.

projapoti · 08-06-2003, 09:22 PM

are you sure it's a bone infection, or is it the joint that is infected? I'm VERY surprised that they would go through all those tests first before considering that there might've been something wrong with your hip in the first place. Did they needle your hip and take any fluid out of it? Serratia is a pretty rare infection--especially for joints and bones.

Anyway, the other thing that concerns me is that a bone infection (osteomyelitis) or an infectious arthritis (joint infection) are serious!! Why didn't they put you on IV drugs? My guess is, is that it's not a bone infection or a joint infection that you have, rather, just a blood infection with Serratia, and you're experiencing joint pain as a side effect.

aaelrefaie · 08-07-2003, 01:46 PM

Actually, you are correct. It was a joint infection. The joint is called the "sacroeliac" (spelling is way wrong).

That joint apparently is between the end of the spine and the hip. They didn't extract anything. They did however say that no IV drugs were needed, oral care would have the same effect.

Thank you for you're reply.

projapoti · 08-08-2003, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by aaelrefaie:
Actually, you are correct. It was a joint infection. The joint is called the "sacroeliac" (spelling is way wrong).

That joint apparently is between the end of the spine and the hip. They didn't extract anything. They did however say that no IV drugs were needed, oral care would have the same effect.

Thank you for you're reply.

It was pretty close! You had an infection of the sacroiliac joint, and they didn't give you IV antibiotics still? That is SO surprising! Infectious arthritis can be deadly because it can destroy your joint. I'm very taken aback by the doctors' conservative approach to that! Here in Canada, those things are treated very aggressively.

cattys · 09-05-2003, 06:16 PM

How did you make out with your hip infection.

I had back surgery last year to implant a spinal cord stimulator and it got infected with serratia. I was told it was a rare bacterial infection. The infection was in my spine talk about scary. I was on 2 different antibiotic IV in the hospital for 2 weeks and went home on cipro and a pic line for another antibiotic for 4 more weeks.

If you are still on this message board please write back and let me know how you are doing. You are the first person I ever heard of besides me with that type of bacterial infection.

Take care
cattys