I'm gonna try and start posting again some, depending on my work load. My internship has been going well, the introductory 10 weeks were busy and now I am finishing up my 10-week microbiology rotation. We have rotation 4 days a week and on Wednesdays we have lectures on the full spectrum of lab topics, as well as a test most weeks on a single topic, most recently, antibiotics. In micro, each week is dedicated to one type of culture, such as urine, stool, and respiratory. This last week we covered blood cultures, a very important type of culture as it is used to detect bacteremia and septicemia. Bacteremia is the presence of bacteria in the blood that does not cause a disease and is usually not a threat to a patient's health. Traditionally, the bacteria are present but not actively dividing. The main risk is that, in those with heart valve defects, bacteremia can lead to the seeding of the heart valves, particularly the mitral valve, with bacteria and lead to endocarditis, a serious and potentially fatal condition. Septicemia is the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream that causes disease and is a potential issue for the patient. In this case, the bacteria are usually dividing and thriving in the blood. Septicemia can be caused by a wide variety of conditions, including abscesses, untreated UTIs, and, ironically, endocarditis. The complications of septicemia are numerous and many are potentially fatal.
