Meningitis Cases Are Linked To Steroid Injections In Spine
Submitted by emalvini on Wed, 10/03/2012 - 03:07Meningitis Cases Are Linked To Steroid Injections In Spine
By DENISE GRADY
Published: October 2, 2012
Dr. April Pettit, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University, was worried about her patient. He had been ill with meningitis for two weeks, he was not getting better, and she could not figure out why. Antibiotics, the usual treatment, were not helping. Bacteria, the usual suspects, could not be found.
On the morning of Sept. 18, as she and a colleague were examining the patient and talking to his family, a pager buzzed. It was the hospital lab, with an answer at last — but a troubling one.
A culture of the patient’s spinal fluid had revealed a fungus, Aspergillus. The patient was so ill that he could no longer communicate, so Dr. Pettit spoke to the family.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/health/meningitis-cases-ar...
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