Almost died from septic shock from a small scratch

Tay Ninh A 55-year-old man scratched his leg on a nail, causing a scratch. After one night, the swelling spread, leading to septic shock, his life was in danger.

On June 14, a representative of Xuyen A Tay Ninh General Hospital said the patient was admitted in a state of fatigue and difficulty breathing, rapid pulse, low blood pressure, and a tear from the calf spreading down to the foot with many red, swollen patches.

Relatives said that the night before being admitted to the hospital, the patient had a nail scratch on his left leg. Because the wound was small and simple, he did not go to a medical facility for examination and tetanus vaccination. A day later, the wound was swollen and spread rapidly, the patient was very tired, so the family took him to the emergency room.

Through examination, the team diagnosed the man with septic shock, poisoning from a wound in his left leg causing acute kidney damage. In particular, the patient had been using corticosteroids for a long time, and had Cushing's syndrome (endocrine and metabolic disorders), so the infection had the opportunity to flare up, causing cellulitis, spreading throughout the leg, and causing blood poisoning.

"The progression of this patient is very rapid and dramatic. If there is a delay, the patient could die from septic shock or poisoning," said Dr. Nguyen Tan Phat, Head of the Intensive Care Unit.

After a day of intensive treatment, the patient gradually stabilized, kidney function recovered, the surgeon incised the abscess, washed, drained and removed the pus.

Patients receive post-operative care. Photo: Provided by the hospital — Patients receive post-operative care. Photo: *Provided by the hospital*

According to Dr. Phat, the hospital has recently successfully treated many cases of critical septic shock from wounds such as skin abrasions, sharp object cuts on hands and feet due to daily activities and work. Most of the wounds were not treated properly at first or were ignored by the patient because they thought they were not serious, leading to infection and endangering their lives.

Doctors recommend that to avoid the risk of infection, if injured, people should go to a medical facility for assessment and treatment, as well as timely tetanus vaccination. In particular, it is necessary to go to the hospital immediately if an infection appears through symptoms such as non-healing wounds, severe redness and inflammation accompanied by pus or unusual discharge.

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