Pasteurella Multocida Infection Follow-up

Updated: Jul 26, 2022
  • Author: Sara L Cross, MD; Chief Editor: Michael Stuart Bronze, MD  more...
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Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

Careful follow-up evaluations of extensive bites or deep puncture wounds from cat bites are mandatory for early diagnosis of tenosynovitis, septic arthritis, and osteomyelitis.

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Complications

Abscesses and tenosynovitis are the most common complications of P multocida soft-tissue infection. Septic arthritis and osteomyelitis are less common. CNS involvement with meningitis can occur. Dissemination is rare.

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Prognosis

Soft-tissue P multocida infections carry an excellent prognosis. Deeper wounds, especially hand infections, may be associated with prolonged morbidity.

P multocida pulmonary infections, CNS involvement, bacteremia, and endocarditis carry a mortality rate of approximately 30%. Recent data show that patients presenting without evidence of an animal bite more frequently had respiratory and bloodstream infections and were relatively immunocompromised at baseline. These patients had a worse prognosis than patients with evidence of animal bite on presentation. [3]

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Patient Education

For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicineHealth's Infections Center. Also, see eMedicineHealth's patient education article Tetanus.

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