Pyaemia (or pyemia) is a type of
sepsis that leads to widespread
abscess
An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pressed. The area of redness often extends b ...
es of a
metastatic nature. It is usually caused by the
staphylococcus
''Staphylococcus'' is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillales. Under the microscope, they appear spherical (cocci), and form in grape-like clusters. ''Staphylococcus'' species are facultative ...
bacteria by pus-forming organisms in the blood. Apart from the distinctive abscesses, pyaemia exhibits the same symptoms as other forms of septicaemia. It was almost universally fatal before the introduction of
antibiotics.
Sir
William Osler included a three-page discussion of pyaemia in his textbook ''
The Principles and Practice of Medicine
''The Principles and Practice of Medicine: Designed for the Use of Practitioners and Students of Medicine'' is a medical textbook by Sir William Osler. It was first published in 1892 by D. Appleton & Company, while Osler was professor of Medicine ...
'', published in 1892. He defined pyaemia as follows:
Earlier still,
Ignaz Semmelweis – who later died of the disease – included a section titled "Childbed fever is a variety of pyaemia" in his treatise, ''The Etiology of Childbed Fever'' (1861).
Jane Grey Swisshelm
Jane Grey Cannon Swisshelm (December 6, 1815 – July 22, 1884) was an American Radical Republican journalist, publisher, abolitionist, and women's rights advocate. She was one of America's first female journalists hired by Horace Greeley at his ...
, in her autobiography titled ''Half a Century'', describes the treatment of pyaemia in 1862 during the
American Civil War.
Types
*''arterial p.'' Pyaemia resulting from dissemination of
emboli from a
thrombus in cardiac vessels.
*''cryptogenic p.'' Pyaemia of an origin that is hidden in the deeper tissues.
*''metastatic p.'' Multiple abscesses resulting from infected pyaemic
thrombi.
*''portal p.'' Suppurative inflammation of the
portal vein
The portal vein or hepatic portal vein (HPV) is a blood vessel that carries blood from the gastrointestinal tract, gallbladder, pancreas and spleen to the liver. This blood contains nutrients and toxins extracted from digested contents. Approxima ...
.
Symptoms
The disease is characterized by intermittent high temperature with recurrent chills; metastatic processes in various parts of the body, especially in the lungs; septic pneumonia;
empyema. It may be fatal.
Clinical sign and symptoms can be differ according to system it involves.
Diagnosis
features of systemic inflammatory response syndrome
tachycardia >90beats/min
tachypnea >24/min
temperature >38 or <36
Treatment
Antibiotics are effective.
Prophylactic treatment consists in prevention of suppuration.
Cultural references
*
Ignaz Semmelweis, the original proponent of hand-washing in the practice of medicine, was widely scorned for his belief and was committed to an insane asylum where he died at age 47 of pyaemia, after being beaten by the guards, only 14 days after he was committed.
* The
nihilistic
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning of life, meaning. The term was pop ...
character Bazarov in
Ivan Turgenev's ''
Fathers and Sons'' dies of pyaemia.
*
Miller Huggins
Miller James Huggins (March 27, 1878 – September 25, 1929) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Huggins played second base for the Cincinnati Reds (1904–1909) and St. Louis Cardinals (1910–1916). He managed the ...
,
manager of the
New York Yankees, died of pyaemia while managing the team during the
1929 season.
*
Blind Boy Fuller died at his home in
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
on February 13, 1941, at 5 p.m. of pyemia due to an infected bladder, gastrointestinal tract and perineum, plus kidney failure.
* Casper, a wounded soldier in "Nostalgia," by Dennis McFarland, is dying of pyemia after his lower arm is amputated.
References
External links
{{Medical resources
, DiseasesDB =
, ICD10 =
, ICD9 = {{ICD9, 038.42
, ICDO =
, OMIM =
, MedlinePlus =
, eMedicineSubj =
, eMedicineTopic =
, MeshID =
, SNOMED CT = 42939002
Bacterial diseases