For newbies and others, this is a long topic. This post and Steve's tonight talks about staph, which may be introduced in a surgical procedure, injection, or even a dental procedure (which we've also talked about and is now a FAQ).
I hope this helps patients consider the following:
- how some pre-operative conditions contribute to post-op problems, but are not diagnosed or identified;
- how incredibly sophisticated microbes are in terms of chronic disease: evading the immune systems of the body, staying out of blood and finding tissue to hide in, forming biofilms and so more;
- how prevalent nosomomial infections are in the US (et al) and may cause problems with spine (et al) patients (120,000 deaths, 1.5M infections annually);
-how US spine patients are at a informational disadvantage, compared to international patients. E.g., see the
stats here on infection for hip/knee patients Orthosupersite. Note: these stats report only what is identified & tracked. Think about it -- no spine patients tracked here!
I have much to share in the coming months...but is this making sense yet?