MRSA Septicemia With Septic Arthritis and Prostatic, Intraretinal, Periapical, and Lung Abscesses

Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is a life-threatening illness and a major global health care problem. It can cause metastatic and complicated infections.

A 58-year-old man with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus presented with altered mental status after a fall. He was found to have a hip fracture, diabetic ketoacidosis, and MRSA bacteremia. This was complicated by septic knee arthritis, prostatic abscess, intraretinal abscess, periapical abscesses, and pulmonary abscesses. He was treated with intravenous vancomycin and oral linezolid and eventually recovered.

Severe metastatic MRSA infection was likely due, in part, to the patient's uncontrolled diabetes, as he has no underlying immunodeficiency and was HIV negative. Prostatic abscesses are a relatively rare occurrence that typically develop in immunocompromised patients.

This case is an interesting confluence of sequelae of MRSA bacteremia and reinforces the necessity for clinicians to be diligent when evaluating a patient with a suspected prostatic abscess.