Robert Whitfield MD presents a case of E. coli infection in breast implant tissue that went undetected by standard blood tests, CT, and MRI scans. The hospital microbiology lab found over 100,000 organisms per high-power field. The patient recovered after antibiotics, but the case highlights how implant infections can be missed.
10^6 organisms (over 100,000) per high-power field.
But she had a E. Coli infection. Wow. So for everybody listening, E. Coli infection. You've heard of all the food poisoning that can happen with E. Coli. This was in and around her breast implant. And this was enough bacteria to truly be called an infection based on the hospital criteria, which is 10 to the 6 or over 100,000 per high power field. So that's very, very bad. Obviously. My sister passed away this past year of cancer, breast cancer specifically, and had someone missed that on her, I'd be really pissed off that that had happened. So we went back through all for the case and we didn't have any clues. There were nothing on her blood laboratories, there were nothing on her studies, her CT scanner, mri. There was nothing to tell you that that was there. So I treated her appropriately based on what was found, with antibiotics, and magically she got better. All of her fatigue went away. So she just had been wandering around with an implant infection for an undetermined amount of time.
