A Michigan man would force amputations of elements of his hands and feet when experiencing a severe case of streptococcus tonsilitis. however however do the bacterium that cause strep conjointly cause such AN extreme complication?
The 44-year-old man, Kevin Breen, 1st visited the hospital room in late December with flu-like symptoms and abdomen pain, per CNN. Then his abdomen began to enlarge, and he was taken into surgery. Doctors found copious amounts of pus close his organs, however they did not understand the reason for his ill health.
A big clue came when Breen's surgery, once a rash appeared on his chest, which might be an indication of a strep infection. Indeed, a take a look at for true bacteria, the bacterium that cause streptococcus tonsilitis, came back positive, CNN said.
Unfortunately, his infection caused him to develop septic shock, per Breen's GoFundMe page, that was got wind of to assist get his medical bills.
Septic shock could be a serious complication that happens once AN infection ends up in hazardously low pressure level, per the National Institutes of Health. It happens once toxins discharged by the bacterium, further because the body's own inflammatory response to the infection, damage the body's tissues, causing blood pressure to drop, the NIH says.
When people experience a dramatic drop in blood pressure, their body starts to shunt blood to vital organs, which reduces blood flow to the extremities, and so tissue in these areas starts to die, Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told Live Science in a 2015 interview.
In Breen's case, parts of his hands and feet started to turn black from tissue death. Breen will undergo surgeries to amputate his left hand, fingers on his right hand, and parts of both feet, according to his GoFundMe page.
Breen's complication is extremely rare — in most cases of strep throat, the bacteria infects the throat and tonsils, and causes such symptoms as a sore throat, fever and red spots on the roof of the mouth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the bacteria can spread to other parts of the body, including the sinuses, skin and ears.
With Breen, the bacteria spread to his stomach. There have been just 32 reported cases of strep bacteria infecting the stomach, and of these, just two involved men, according to the New York Daily News.
Before Breen's ill health, his son had a streptococcus tonsilitis infection, and Breen had visited the doctor at that point to check if he conjointly had a streptococcus tonsilitis infection. however this 1st take a look at for the bacterium came back negative, per NBC. regarding ten to twenty p.c of tests for streptococcus tonsilitis square measure "false negatives," that means the result's negative once an individual very will have the ill health, per HealthPartners, a non-profit-making health care supplier.
