Michael Omidi discusses how a patient was recently diagnosed with spinal meningitis 106 days after receiving an epidural steroid injection and how there may be many cases still to be reported.
The meningitis scare has dissipated considerably within the past few weeks, and has, sadly, largely been replaced by the flu scare. Unfortunately, even though we would certainly like to breathe a little easier about this awful disease, it was recently reported that a victim was diagnosed as having spinal meningitis 106 days after having the contaminated epidural steroid injection that caused all of the illnesses and deaths.
The Tennessee patient had received an injection at the end
of September, only to be diagnosed with meningitis and an injection site
infection in mid December. It is thought
that the vast majority of people who have been infected with the tainted drug
have already been identified and treated, but the gestation period for fungal
meningitis is quite long—typically several weeks but occasionally longer. This new patient’s diagnosis has reminded the
medical community that while there are still people out there who have been
exposed to the steroid, there may still be outbreaks and possibly fatalities.
The epidural steroid injections were intended to relieve
severe chronic back and neck pain. These
injections are meant for patients with pain so severe that it renders them less
able to perform daily tasks, but there are many health care providers that do
not look kindly upon the procedure, which is very dangerous even when there is
no threat of contamination. It is not
uncommon for the person administering the injection to accidentally puncturing
the spinal cord or causing nerve damage.
It is estimated that approximately 50 percent of patients experience
pain relief as a result of epidural steroid injections.
There may be many people who have infections that have gone unreported. In California there haven’t
been any official fungal meningitis cases, but there were reports of people
with very similar symptoms—headaches, back aches and difficulty standing or
sitting for extended periods of time—who, for whatever reason, were never
classified as being among the victims.
It is highly likely that the mental stress has contributed
to the complications the patients may be suffering. Also, even though tests for meningitis may
come up as being negative, there are other spinal infections that might cause
lingering discomfort, like epidural abscesses and—more seriously—arachnoititis,
which is a chronic condition that can only be managed and never entirely
eliminated.
Many older patients who have developed infections are not
eligible for the traditional treatments since they have very powerful side
effects that delicate patients may not be able to tolerate.
As the weeks stretch into months, the only thing that the
patients that have been exposed to the fungus can do is get medical
consultations, wait and worry.
By Michael Omidi
Wilemon, Tom: Meningitis Outbreak: TN patient’s diagnosis came at 106 days The
Tennessean 1/15/2013 http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130115/NEWS07/301150042/Meningitis-outbreak-TN-patient-s-diagnosis-came-106-days
Dance, Scott: In meningitis outbreak, fear lingers with few answers The
Baltimore Sun 1/6/2013 http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-01-06/health/bs-hs-meningitis-fears-20130106_1_fungal-meningitis-meningitis-outbreak-infection-prevention-and-outbreak
Wilemon, Tom; Roche, Walter F: Patients say their cases ignored in meningitis
outbreak USA Today 11/24/2012 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2012/11/24/meningitis-outbreak-cases-not-counted/1724379/
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