TITLE:
Sepsis after Administering an Intramuscular Iron Injection in the Arm of an Elder Patient with Multiple Comorbidities: A Case Report
AUTHORS:
Michele Paula dos Santos, Taís Michele Werle, Mariana Martins Dantas Santos, Carolina Boeira Soares, Carlos Augusto Treviso, Italo Trois Maestri, Stella Duarte Pinto, Carolina Hack Alves, Laura Gomes Boabaid de Barros, Maria Eduarda Perobelli Buzetto, Guilherme Boeira Soares, Gabriel Lorentz Trein, Aline Porto, Bárbara Adelmann de Lima, Fernanda Bercht Merten, Luane Pereira Gomes, Rafaela Siviero Caron-Lienert, Miriam Viviane Baron
KEYWORDS:
Critical Care, Education, Continuing, Injectables, Septicemia, Soft Tissue Infections, Suppuration
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.11 No.5,
May
17,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background: Skin reactions and musculoskeletal injuries caused by intramuscular injection are an increased risk for skin and soft tissue infections and may culminate in sepsis. Objective: To describe the history of an elderly patient who developed a lesion in her right arm after home administration of intramuscular iron injection in this arm and its outcome. Methods: This is a case report of a patient who participated in a study in an intensive care unit. Results: This study describes a 65-year-old patient with multiple comorbidities who was admitted to the hospital complaining of pain for two months and difficulty in moving her right shoulder associated with skin and soft tissue infections in her right arm after intramuscular iron administration by a relative for the treatment of multifactorial anemia and refractory melena. The patient worsened her general condition and was transferred to the intensive care unit. Despite the therapy instituted, the patient developed sepsis of cutaneous origin, multiple organ dysfunction, and death. Conclusions: The administration of intramuscular medication requires the participation of qualified professionals, such as nurses, mainly within the scope of the Brazilian public health system which commonly comprises patients in a context of vulnerability.