Question

30-year-old male medical laboratory assistant is admitted to the hospital for fever and bacteremia. The patient requires a central venous line because of poor venous access. Multiple blood cultures reveal unusual organisms in the blood, and a total of eight different organisms are isolated over the course of his stay. The patient locks himself in the bathroom for extended periods of time, and his room is full of half-empty soda cans. Upon careful inspection of his room, one can is noted to have a syringe in it. When the patient is confronted with the hypothesis that he has been injecting himself with contaminated syringes, he signs out of the hospital. Think:

Answer 1

The possible reasons for intravenous chemotherapy failure may be due to biofilm formation or antibiotic resistance of the bacteria. The removal of the intravenous catheter and the use of oral antibiotics in the second round of treatment may have contributed to its success.

Step-by-step explanation:

The possible reasons why intravenous chemotherapy failed to completely cure the patient despite laboratory tests showing the bacterial strain was susceptible to the prescribed antibiotic could be due to several factors.

One possibility is that the antibiotics used were not able to effectively penetrate the biofilm formed by the Staphylococcus epidermidis, which can protect the bacteria from the action of the antibiotics.

Another possibility is that the bacteria developed resistance to the antibiotic during the course of treatment, either through the acquisition of resistance genes or through the selection of resistant subpopulations.

The second round of antibiotic therapy may have been more successful because the intravenous catheter, which served as a potential source of re-infection, was removed.

Additionally, oral antibiotics may have better penetration into the infected tissues and a broader spectrum of activity against the bacteria, leading to a more effective treatment.