Health Care Worker Contracts MRSA That Goes Undiagnosed and Requires Complicated Heart Surgery

Case Overview

This case involves a 45-year-old woman who contracted a severe MRSA infection most likely while working as a health care provider. She sustained a fall on the job and was originally treated for a lower back sprain and was discharged but over the next few days she became febrile with a rapid pulse, had severe joint pain, and had signs of altered mental health status. The delay in diagnosis resulted in her having to have surgery for a cervical spine abscess, aortic valve surgery for septic emboli, and joint surgery for septic joints.