E. coli in my blood consistently

Posted by vlf @vlf, 5 days ago

My husband has been hospitalized 6 times in the past 10 months with EColi in his blood. Each time sepsis one type sepsis shock. The biggest issue the hospitals are unable to identify the source. Since he had numerous diverticulitis they performed a surgery and he has a colostomy. After that time is when he began having E. coli in his blood. All doctors state it can’t be related. He also has leukemia snd MDS for 3years which doesn’t help him fight infections. He is again in hospital with this infection again. Anyone had this issue too?

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Lori, Volunteer Mentor | @loribmt | 4 days ago

Hello @vlf I’m so sorry to read about all the misery your husband is going through with E Coli in his blood. With having MDS his immune system is compromised, so you’re right in that it sets him up for infections.

I’m not experienced with colostomies personally. But had a relative who underwent a colostomy procedure and was treated for E Coli because of an intra-abdominal leak. This was many years ago. From my understanding sepis is not uncommon after this type of surgery because of the potential for leaking bacteria into the body/blood stream.

I did a little quick research and found several articles but posted this one from the National Institute of Health, that discusses post operative sepis that might be helpful to bring some light to this situation. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8942007/

It feels rather dismissive to have the doctors state that it couldn’t be related to his procedure. It’s a shame when we have to push so hard to be our own advocates for healthcare for ourselves or loved ones. Have you considered having a 2nd opinion?

vlf | @vlf | 4 days ago

Oh my thank you so much I will definitely read this. Yes we have many many doctors treat him for this and everyone is doing the exact same test over and over again and obtaining the same results. He is at a huge well known cancer hospital in Houston and they continue to perform these fancy test same test yet again. They said today they don’t know and maybe the next time he comes in with it they will identify the cause. So very frustrating. Thank you for your feedback.

dlydailyhope | @dlydailyhope | 4 days ago

@vlf
My infant son got E. coli in his blood from fecal matter getting in his urethra, bladder, ureters then kidneys and then jumped to his bloodstream. This happened when he was in daycare and his diaper wasn’t changed in a timely manner. He had to be hospitalized and given IV antibiotics. This scarred his kidneys but luckily, he was able to heal and hasn’t had additional problems. I was told he could have died if he wasn’t treated promptly. He was only 5 months old.

Has your husband had ultrasounds and/or MRI/CT scans of his abdomen/pelvis to see if there is some injury or leakage from his surgical procedures?

Does his bloodwork show anything else being off/abnormal? Is there a possibility that when changing the colostomy bag that fecal matter gets into the urethra, bladder, ureters, kidneys and then bloodstream to cause the E. coli infection?

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