The New Epidemic: MRSA?

Beka - Tall, thin, cachetic patients would line up outside the clinic. Purplish, black irregular patches covered their faces and chests. That was the health scare over 20 years ago when a new epidemic had arrived on the scene -- a disease named with the 3-letter-acronym: HIV.

Today we are facing another new 4-letter-acronym: MRSA, whose progression through the body can be brutal and lethal if undetected. An innocent minor skin infection can rapidly progress to cellulitis, eventual sepsis, multi-system organ failure, and death.

In 1993 I was working my usual night shift when we admitted a 30-something, strapping construction worker who had bumped his elbow against a wall. His primary complaint was fatigue and a labile systolic blood pressure. Little did I know that would be my first encounter with MRSA.

Initially he was afebrile and vitals were reasonable except for increasing swelling of the left arm. Within a few hours however, his temp was over 102 F, augmented by shakes, rigors, and compartment syndrome of the left arm that soon began extending up towards the neck and across the chest area. By 4 am, he was intubated, sedated, and paralyzed with high dose pressors and Nimbex. By the morning we were rushing him to the OR to perform multiple fasciotomy procedures to save his life. There was a 3-year-old son waiting for him at home.

We saved him. But he had a long hospital course and rehab at our local burn center. Six deep fasciotomies had been performed, each area requiring deep wound packing BID for several months. I had never seen an infection progress that rapidly before in my life. Now that the media is bringing attention to this new so-called “Superbug,” how many nurses have had similar MRSA experiences, before it grabbed super attention?

A Related Article: Questions About MRSA and Answers From the Experts