Septic embolism

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A septic embolism is a type of embolism that is infected with bacteria, resulting in the formation of pus. [1] These may become dangerous if dislodged from their original location. Like other emboli, a septic embolism may be fatal.

Contents

One of the common microbes that can lead to widespread dissemination of septic emboli is Fusobacterium necrophorum , a Gram negative anaerobic bacillus. Fusobacteriota are commensal organisms in the oral cavity. F. necrophorum and F. nucleatum are the most important among the non-spore forming anaerobic bacilli in causing human infections. F. necroporum may occasionally cause septicaemia with metastatic abscesses (Lemierre's syndrome).[ citation needed ]

Pathogenesis

Septic emboli most often originate from extrapulmonary locations which have been infected for a period of time. For example, a person's intravenous access site, which is used to insert intravenous drugs, may become infected. When present in great number, septic emboli can coalesce and mimick a lobar or bronchopneumonia. The infected site, combined with various coagulants that may be generated by the bacteria or the body, may then break off and enter the circulatory system, potentially causing a clot.[ citation needed ]

Diagnosis

A septic embolism can be difficult to identify, as it is often attributed to other disorders or infections of the body. As a result, it may wreak havoc with CT scans. It can also be confused with lymph nodules, considering the similarity in shape and size. However, septic emboli usually lodge in the heart valves, where there are no lymph nodes.[ citation needed ]

See also

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Lemierre's syndrome refers to infectious thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein. It most often develops as a complication of a bacterial sore throat infection in young, otherwise healthy adults. The thrombophlebitis is a serious condition and may lead to further systemic complications such as bacteria in the blood or septic emboli.

Embolism Disease of arteries, arterioles and capillaries

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An embolus is an unattached mass that travels through the bloodstream and is capable of creating blockages. When an embolus occludes a blood vessel, it is called an embolism or embolic event. There are a number of different types of emboli, including blood clots, cholesterol plaque or crystals, fat globules, gas bubbles, and foreign bodies, which can result in different types of embolisms.

Thrombus Blood clot

A thrombus, colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cross-linked fibrin protein. The substance making up a thrombus is sometimes called cruor. A thrombus is a healthy response to injury intended to stop and prevent further bleeding, but can be harmful in thrombosis, when a clot obstructs blood flow through healthy blood vessels in the circulatory system.

Bloodstream infections (BSIs), which include bacteremias when the infections are bacterial and fungemias when the infections are fungal, are infections present in the blood. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of microbes in the blood is always abnormal. A bloodstream infection is different from sepsis, which is the host response to bacteria.

Septic shock Medical condition that occurs when sepsis leads to dangerously low blood pressure

Septic shock is a potentially fatal medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3) defines septic shock as a subset of sepsis in which particularly profound circulatory, cellular, and metabolic abnormalities are associated with a greater risk of mortality than with sepsis alone. Patients with septic shock can be clinically identified by requiring a vasopressor to maintain a mean arterial pressure of 65 mm Hg or greater and having serum lactate level greater than 2 mmol/L (>18 mg/dL) in the absence of hypovolemia. This combination is associated with hospital mortality rates greater than 40%.

Septic arthritis Medical condition

Acute septic arthritis, infectious arthritis, suppurative arthritis, osteomyelitis, or joint infection is the invasion of a joint by an infectious agent resulting in joint inflammation. Generally speaking, symptoms typically include redness, heat and pain in a single joint associated with a decreased ability to move the joint. Onset is usually rapid. Other symptoms may include fever, weakness and headache. Occasionally, more than one joint may be involved especially in neonates and younger children. In neonates, infants i.e. during the first year of life and toddlers, the signs and symptoms of septic arthritis can be deceptive and mimic other infectious and non-infectious disorders.

Infective endocarditis Medical condition

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Tonsillitis Inflammation of the tonsils

Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. Tonsillitis is a type of pharyngitis that typically comes on fast. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and large lymph nodes around the neck. Complications include peritonsillar abscess.

Lung abscess Medical condition

Lung abscess is a type of liquefactive necrosis of the lung tissue and formation of cavities containing necrotic debris or fluid caused by microbial infection.

Gas gangrene Human bacterial infection

Gas gangrene is a bacterial infection that produces tissue gas in gangrene. This deadly form of gangrene usually is caused by Clostridium perfringens bacteria. About 1,000 cases of gas gangrene are reported yearly in the United States.

<i>Peptostreptococcus</i> Genus of bacteria

Peptostreptococcus is a genus of anaerobic, Gram-positive, non-spore forming bacteria. The cells are small, spherical, and can occur in short chains, in pairs or individually. They typically move using cilia. Peptostreptococcus are slow-growing bacteria with increasing resistance to antimicrobial drugs. Peptostreptococcus is a normal inhabitant of the healthy lower reproductive tract of women.

Mediastinitis Inflammatory process affecting the mediastinum

Mediastinitis is inflammation of the tissues in the mid-chest, or mediastinum. It can be either acute or chronic. It is thought to be due to four different etiologies:

An embolus, is described as a free-floating mass, located inside blood vessels that can travel from one site in the blood stream to another. An embolus can be made up of solid, liquid, or gas. Once these masses get "stuck" in a different blood vessel, it is then known as an "embolism." An embolism can cause ischemia - or damage to an organ from lack of oxygen. A paradoxical embolism is a specific type of embolism in which the emboli travels from the right side of the heart or "venous circulation," travels to the left side of the heart or "arterial circulation," and lodges itself in a blood vessel known as an artery. Thus, it is termed "paradoxical" because the emboli lands in an artery, rather than a vein.

Foot rot, or infectious pododermatitis, is a hoof infection commonly found in sheep, goats, and cattle. As the name suggests, it rots away the foot of the animal, more specifically the area between the two toes of the affected animal. It is extremely painful and contagious. It can be treated with a series of medications, but if not treated, the whole herd can become infected. The cause of the infection in cattle is two species of anaerobic bacteria, Fusobacterium necrophorum and Bacteroides melaninogenicus. Both bacteria are common to the environment in which cattle live, and Fusobacterium is present in the rumen and fecal matter of the cattle. In sheep, F. necrophorum first invades the interdigital skin following damage to the skin, and causes interdigital lesions and slight inflammation. The second stage of the disease is marked by the invasion of the foot by the foot rot bacterium Dichelobacter nodosus, a Gram-negative anaerobe. Usually, an injury to the skin between the hooves allows the bacteria to infect the animal. Another cause of foot rot may be high temperatures or humidity, causing the skin between the hooves to crack and let the bacteria infect the foot. This is one of the reasons foot rot is such a major problem in the summer. Foot rot is easily identifiable by its appearance and foul odor. Treatment is usually with an antibiotic medication, and preventing injury to the feet is the best way to prevent foot rot.

Septic abortion describes any type of abortion, due to an upper genital tract bacterial infection including the inflammation of the endometrium during or after 20 weeks of gestation. The genital tract during this period is particularly vulnerable to infection, and sepsis in most cases is caused by a combination of factors both due to facility conditions and/or individual predispositions. The infection often starts in the placenta and fetus, with a potential complication of also affecting the uterus, that can result in sepsis spreading to surrounding organs, or pelvic infections.

Arterial embolism Interruption of blood flow to an organ

Arterial embolism is a sudden interruption of blood flow to an organ or body part due to an embolus adhering to the wall of an artery blocking the flow of blood, the major type of embolus being a blood clot (thromboembolism). Sometimes, pulmonary embolism is classified as arterial embolism as well, in the sense that the clot follows the pulmonary artery carrying deoxygenated blood away from the heart. However, pulmonary embolism is generally classified as a form of venous embolism, because the embolus forms in veins. Arterial embolism is the major cause of infarction.

Anaerobic infections are caused by anaerobic bacteria. Obligately anaerobic bacteria do not grow on solid media in room air ; facultatively anaerobic bacteria can grow in the presence or absence of air. Microaerophilic bacteria do not grow at all aerobically or grow poorly, but grow better under 10% carbon dioxide or anaerobically. Anaerobic bacteria can be divided into strict anaerobes that can not grow in the presence of more than 0.5% oxygen and moderate anaerobic bacteria that are able of growing between 2 and 8% oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria usually do not possess catalase, but some can generate superoxide dismutase which protects them from oxygen.

Septic pelvic thrombophlebitis (SPT), also known as suppurative pelvic thrombophlebitis, is a rare postpartum complication which consists of a persistent postpartum fever that is not responsive to broad-spectrum antibiotics, in which pelvic infection leads to infection of the vein wall and intimal damage leading to thrombogenesis in the ovarian veins. The thrombus is then invaded by microorganisms. Ascending infections cause 99% of postpartum SPT.

An infectious intracranial aneurysm is a cerebral aneurysm that is caused by infection of the cerebral arterial wall.

References

  1. Elsaghir, Hend; Al Khalili, Yasir (2020). "Septic Emboli". StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. Retrieved 23 February 2021.