Staphylococcal septicaemia with disseminated intravascular coagulation associated with acupuncture

Izatt, E.; Fairman, M. J.

doi:10.1136/pgmj.53.619.285

Cited by 23 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 3 publications

(2 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Apart from blood-borne infections due to patient-to-patient transmission, acupuncture can also be complicated by infections caused by environmental microorganisms or the patient's own skin flora, as the most commonly used skin disinfectant in acupuncture clinics is alcohol. There have been case reports of such bacterial infections as well as abscess formation without proven microbiological causes complicating acupuncture (4,10,11,12,14,16,19,24,26,45).Mycobacteria are well known to be relatively resistant to disinfectants, and the mechanism of disinfectant resistance has been described for some mycobacteria (18). Outbreaks of infections caused by mycobacteria resistant to disinfectants are of great concern (9).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Relatively Alcohol-Resistant Mycobacteria Are Emerging Pathogens in Patients Receiving Acupuncture Treatment

et al. 2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Acupuncture has been gaining popularity as a form of alternative medicine. In the past, only blood-borne viruses and anecdotal reports of bacterial infections have been associated with acupuncture. We report on four patients with mycobacterial infections complicating acupuncture who were encountered in a 2-year period. All had clinical and/or radiological lesions at acupuncture point-and meridian-specific locations. There was no other history of trauma or other clinical foci of infections, and the chest radiographs were normal. Histological studies of biopsy specimens of all four patients showed changes compatible with chronic inflammation, with granulomatous inflammation present in three patients and acid-fast bacilli present in two. Conventional biochemical tests and whole-cell fatty acid analysis for identification were inconclusive for all four nonpigmented mycobacteria recovered from tissue biopsies. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the strains from two patients were Mycobacterium chelonae and that those from the other two were Mycobacterium nonchromogenicum. Alcohol resistance assay using the quantitative suspension test revealed that all four strains showed prolonged survival in 75% alcohol compared to other skin flora. Mycobacterial infections transmitted by acupuncture are an emerging problem. A high index of suspicion is essential to recognize this clinical syndrome, and strict implementation of proper infection control guidelines for acupuncture is mandatory.Acupuncture has been gaining popularity as a form of alternative medicine in both Asian and Western countries for chronic pain problems, digestive disorders, allergic disorders, psychosomatic problems, menstrual disorders, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation. However, in most countries, monitoring and control over the practice and its associated complications are far from adequate. Although infection control guidelines for acupuncture are available (1), the implementation, especially in developing countries where acupuncture is very popular, is far from ideal. In the past, needles used for acupuncture were usually reused and often inadequately sterilized. Such inadequate disinfection has led to the transmission of infectious diseases from patient to patient. The best-documented acupuncture-transmitted microorganisms are the blood-borne viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus (13,32,44). Apart from blood-borne infections due to patient-to-patient transmission, acupuncture can also be complicated by infections caused by environmental microorganisms or the patient's own skin flora, as the most commonly used skin disinfectant in acupuncture clinics is alcohol. There have been case reports of such bacterial infections as well as abscess formation without proven microbiological causes complicating acupuncture (4,10,11,12,14,16,19,24,26,45).Mycobacteria are well known to be relatively resistant to disinfectants, and the mechanism of disinfectant resistance has been described for some mycobacteria (18)...

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Relatively Alcohol-Resistant Mycobacteria Are Emerging Pathogens in Patients Receiving Acupuncture Treatment

et al. 2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bei Patienten unter Immunsuppression oder mit vorgeschädigten Herzklappen kann sich daraus aber eine lebensbedrohliche Infektion entwickeln. Es gibt 2 Fallbeschreibungen, in denen eine Akupunkturbehandlung als Ursache einer Staphylokokkensepsis diskutiert wird [52,53], eine davon mit tödlichem Ausgang [53]. In 4 weiteren Berichten kommt die Akupunktur als Ursache einer Endokarditis in Betracht [54][55][56][57], teilweise ebenfalls mit tödlichem Ausgang [57].…”

Section: Acupuncture: Complications Contraindications and Informed Cunclassified

Akupunktur: Komplikationen, Kontraindikationen und Patientenaufklärung

Groot

2001

Complement Med Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Acupuncture: Complications, Contraindications and Informed Consent With the widespread usage of acupuncture, the number of reports about complications of this treatment increases. Harmless disturbances are common and include minor bleedings or haematomas, pain during insertion or after withdrawal of the needle, and skin symptoms. In every second acupuncture treatment, at least one of these complications occurs. Orthostatic dysregulations are relatively rare and can be observed in only 1% of patients. They can be prevented by treating the patient in a lying position, especially in the first treatment session. Stab injuries of internal organs most often affect the lungs, resulting in a pneumothorax. At least 23 cases have been published, 2 of them with fatal consequences. An inquiry of Norwegian doctors even suggests that until 1995 in Norway alone 250 cases of pneumothorax after acupuncture occurred. Stab injuries of other internal organs or the CNS are only described in case reports, but some of them had fatal consequences. Stab injuries of peripheral nerves or large vessels and systemic bacterial infections like sepsis or endocarditis are very rare but serious consequences have been described. The transmission of viral infections due to insufficiently sterilised acupuncture needles loses more and more importance. The incidence of local infections can possibly be influenced, but even in Europe this complication still occurs frequently. The overview of published complications leads to the contraindications of acupuncture. Disturbances of coagulation, immune deficiency, abnormal heart valves or prosthetic valves are the most important ones to name. Suggestions for obtaining informed consent may be helpful while performing clinical trials.

show abstract

“…In the past four decades, a total of 52 isolated cases of pyogenic bacterial infections claimed to be associated with acupuncture treatment were reported in the English literature (Baltimore & Moloy, 1976;Izatt & Fairman, 1977;Jones & Cross, 1980;Pierik, 1982;Hadden & Swanson, 1982;Jefferys et al, 1983; R.J. Lee & Mcllwain, 1985;Davis & Powell, 1985;Warwick-Brown & Richards, 1986;Gillbert, 1987;Scheel et al, 1992;Spleman et al, 1993;Garcia & Venkataramani, 1994;Kirschenbaum & Rizzo, 1997;C.Y. Chen et al, 1997;Matsumura et al, 1998;Yazawa et al, 1998;Lau et al, 1998;Ha et al, 1999;Origuchi et al, 2000;Ishibe et al, 2001;Nambiar & Ratnatunga, 2001;Laing et al, 2002;Uchino et al, 2002; S.Y.…”

Section: Acupuncture Transmitted Pyogenic Bacterial Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acupuncture Transmitted Infections

CY¹,

WC²,

KP³

2011

Acupuncture - Clinical Practice, Particular Techniques and Special Issues

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Staphylococcal septicaemia with disseminated intravascular coagulation associated with acupuncture

Abstract: Summary A case of disseminated intravascular coagulation due to staphylococcal septicaemia is described in which the source of infection was likely to have been acupuncture therapy.

Cited by 23 publications

References 3 publications

Relatively Alcohol-Resistant Mycobacteria Are Emerging Pathogens in Patients Receiving Acupuncture Treatment

Relatively Alcohol-Resistant Mycobacteria Are Emerging Pathogens in Patients Receiving Acupuncture Treatment

Akupunktur: Komplikationen, Kontraindikationen und Patientenaufklärung

Acupuncture Transmitted Infections

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About