MRSA causes bone marrow to fail?

[Peachy]

Hello again - Been a challenging few months. First a quick update/overview:

Finished Induction Chemo for the AML. Our best news was the blasts dropped from 35% to 2%.

Then onto BMT/SCT consult where we were turned down due to a cancer (squamous) that showed up in a lymph node, but is now not findable - nor can we prove it is gone. So we moved onto Consolidation Chemo and completed it a little over 2 weeks ago.

He has spent most of the last week in the hospital for almost passing out on me twice, home for 2 days and then back with lesions on his face. He is now receiving 3 IV antibiotics (viral, fungal and bacterial). We will continue 2 of these as outpatients. Infectious Doc says the lesions are probably from MRSA (still waiting on final results from biopsy) and was not readily recognizable because he has no white to fight infection. Funny - we thought they might be ingrown hairs. Really glad we got them checked out!

We asked why his blood levels were dropping so dramatically (9.1 to 7.6 overnight) and were told his bone marrow is not producing cells due to the MRSA infection. Has anyone heard of this?

He had already bottomed out and this is about the time he should start making new cells, but instead he has had 6 units of blood and 3 units of platelets in the last 7 days (more than he had during induction and more often). He will probably get another 2 units of blood and 1 of platelets tomorrow before being discharged.

MRSA is such a super bug. Can it keep the bone marrow down until it is completely gone? I understand getting rid of it is a very hard thing to accomplish.

Any thoughts would be helpful. Scared. Thanks in advance...Peachy

PS - Think the MRSA came from a port which was removed 4 days after it was put in.

[Birgitta-A]

Hi Peachy,
Too bad that your husband wasn't accepted for SCT. You know all infections can decrease all counts - not only MRSA.

I have had neutropenic fever three times due to simple infections for example a throat infection and an intestinal infection.

Hope they can cure the lesions in his face!
kind regards
Birgitta-A

[Peachy]

Hi Birgetta-A -

Thank you for your reply. Guess I panicked a bit because of the way the Doc said it. His counts up by 0.1, so they let him out of the hospital. We now are to receive everything out patient. Still living in a bubble because counts still very low.

Lesions - one is showing great improvements and the others will take much longer. The MRSA in his nose is another matter. Have to wait for his whites to come back to make it infected enough to do something with.

I am thinking that neutropenic fever is not fun either! Glad you are doing well. Peachy