Persistent bacteremia is characterized by the continuous presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. It is usually the result of an infected heart valve, a central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), an infected blood clot (suppurative thrombophlebitis), or an infected blood vessel graft. Persistent bacteremia can also occur as part of the infection process of typhoid fever, brucellosis, and bacterial meningitis. Left untreated, conditions causing persistent bacteremia can be potentially fatal.Bacteremia is clinically distinct from sepsis, which is a condition where the blood stream infection is associated with an inflammatory response from the body, often causing abnormalities in body temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and white blood cell count. Treatment
The presence of bacteria in the blood almost always requires treatment with antibiotics. This is because there are high mortality rates from progression to sepsis if antibiotics are delayed.The treatment of bacteremia should begin with empiric antibiotic coverage. Any patient presenting with signs or symptoms of bacteremia or a positive blood culture should be started on intravenous antibiotics. The choice of antibiotic is determined by the most likely source of infection and by the characteristic organisms that typically cause that infection. Other important considerations include the patients history of antibiotic use, the severity of the presenting symptoms, and any allergies to antibiotics. Empiric antibiotics should be narrowed, preferably to a single antibiotic, once the blood culture returns with a particular bacteria that has been isolated.
Epidemiology
The C2 fracture accounts for nearly 19% of spinal fractures and 55% of cervical fractures (in patients with head injury). Within C2 fractures, the hangmans fracture accounts for 23% of occurrences while the odontoid or dens fracture accounts for 55% of them. Society
Statistics from the AHRQ show that there were 12,532 hospital discharges from C2 fractures in the US during 2010. The mean healthcare costs were $17,015 and the "national bill" or the aggregate charges were $749,553,403. Only 460 in-hospital deaths related to the C2 fracture occurred. From 2000 to 2010, the number of discharges has increased from 4,875 to 12,532, almost a 250 percent increase. Mean health care costs went from $24,771 to $59,939. See also
Cervical fracture
Cervical vertebrae

References


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