Definition
Bacteremia indicates the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream (note: in normal conditions, blood is an aseptic fluid). This condition can occur following various infections, such as, for example, pneumonia, enteritis or meningitis.
Bacteremia can depend on the presence of infectious foci that are in communication with the circulatory system (eg endocarditis). In other cases, in the course of an infectious disease, the passage of bacteria in the blood represents the early phase of invasion that precedes the colonization of an organ by germs.
Indwelling vascular and urinary catheters, orthopedic devices, implantable devices (eg, pacemakers, cardiac valve prostheses, etc.), treatment of an infected wound, dental procedures and other invasive medical procedures, increase the likelihood of incurring bacteraemia.
A bacteremia may be transient or persistent with systemic sequelae. Sometimes it can lead to the spread of the infection to other sites in the body.
Some patients with bacteremia may be asymptomatic or have only a mild fever. The development of other symptoms, such as tachypnea, shaking chills, persistent fever, sensory alteration, hypotension, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, suggests a more severe infection, such as sepsis or septic shock.
In the event of bacteremia, antibiotic therapy should be administered based on the results of microbiological investigations (blood cultures) and the antibiogram. In some cases, surgical drainage of abscesses and the removal of any device that represents the suspected source of the problem may be necessary.
Possible Causes * of Bacteremia
- Anthrax
- Infectious Cellulite
- Infective endocarditis
- Listeriosis
- melioidosis
- Meningitis
- omphalitis
- Osteitis
- Osteomyelitis
- Ear infection
- Peritonitis
- Pneumonia
- Tuberculosis
