[11th_VA]

Years ago, my then 4 year old had similar sickness. When my wife took her to the doctor, he sent her straight to the hospital, ordered IV and antibiotics. Took about 48 hours to find a drug that would work. She's a healthy 16 year old now, but I often reflect on what might have happened if we waited or the doctor didn't send her to the hosptal.

[Endeavor]

"Because Arthur could not obtain a positive blood culture, it is unclear if Jessie went into toxic shock."

It's clear to me that's what killed her.

I'd have done a CBC on the kid - her white count should have either been sky high or super low - depending on which stage of septicemia she was in when the test was done. The pediatrician should have insisted on a CBC when the mom called him back the next day after having been to the ER that night. After all, he suspected a septic knee. Those are the kinds of cases that used to keep me awake at night - and I'm only a vet.

[DJtex]

This is such a tough, sad case. Overuse of antibiotics is not good, but this is an example of why a doctor will prescribe it if there is no definite diagnosis.

When I lived in Hawaii a few years back, a lot of my friends would get strep if they went swimming with any kind of scratch on their leg. There are just too many visitors and Maui's sewerage system basically consists of dumping everything into the Pacific.

I've been fighting MRSA Staph from a leg wound myself for the last two months with Vancomicyn--a tough drug for a tough bug.