How long can one live with bacteremia?

Bacteremia is an extremely serious disease, mainly caused by bacterial infection entering the body and spreading throughout the body with the circulation of blood. Once this symptom occurs, the consequences will be disastrous and the patient will soon be terminally ill. If it is discovered in time and treated correctly, it can be cured in two weeks without causing any adverse effects on the body or leaving any sequelae.

1. How long can you live with bacteremia?

Bacteremia refers to the process in which external bacteria enter the blood system through an entrance on the body surface or an infection entrance, multiply in the human blood and spread throughout the body with the blood flow. The consequences are very serious. Generally speaking, catheters or surgical ostomies on the body surface are prone to bacteremia. Patients with bacteremia often develop acute metastatic infections of multiple organs and various symptoms of acute infection. Once suspected, blood tests should be done immediately. Once confirmed, treatment for the infectious bacteria should be initiated immediately without delay. It is recommended that after obtaining laboratory specimens such as Gram staining and bacterial culture, antibiotic treatment should be given immediately based on experience. Generally, it takes more than half a month of infusion to cure.

2. Clinical manifestations of bacteremia

1. Sudden high fever, which may reach 40-41 degrees, or low temperature, with rapid onset, severe condition and rapid progression;

2. Headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and impaired consciousness;

3. Increased heart rate, rapid pulse, rapid or difficult breathing;

4. The liver and spleen may be enlarged, and in severe cases, jaundice and subcutaneous hemorrhages may occur.

Unless the patient is at risk for persistent or high-level bacteremia, transient, low-level bacteremia is typically asymptomatic. Typical manifestations are signs of systemic infection, including shortness of breath, chills, elevated temperature, and gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea). In the early stages of the illness, the patient's skin is often warm and alertness is decreased. Low blood pressure often goes undetected if your blood pressure is not measured. Some patients develop hypotension later.

Certain characteristics help identify the cause and the bacteria that cause the disease. Infections above the diaphragm are mostly caused by Gram-positive bacteria, while abdominal infections, including biliary and urinary tract infections, are mostly caused by Gram-negative bacteria. However, there is no reliable method for differentiation except laboratory diagnosis for Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteremia and septic shock.

Metastatic abscesses may develop in almost any location and, when extensive, may produce symptoms and signs characteristic of infection in the affected organ. In staphylococcal bacteremia, multiple abscess formation is common. 25% to 40% of patients with persistent bacteremia may develop hemodynamic instability and septic shock.