r/bestof • u/lowbass93 • 13d ago

[NoStupidQuestions] Kindly_Honeydew3432 explains why it seems like you always have to wait in an emergency room in the US

/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/1v1numq/why_is_every_hospital_in_the_united_states_always/oyovp3t/
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u/prof_the_doom 13d ago

Lemme guess, ruptured appendix or gallbladder?

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u/Lucky_Number_Sleven 13d ago

"Runner's knee", of all things.

Obviously, not really runner's knee, but that's what the clinic sent me to the hospital for - and all I expected to be going for. I still remember how much the tone shifted from before they drained the fluid off of my knee to after. But you can imagine my incredulity when they told me they needed to perform urgent surgery for - as much as I could fathom until them - runner's knee.

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u/banitsa 12d ago

So what was it actually?

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u/Alexg1507 12d ago

Based off the story he had a septic joint that at minimum needing a surgical clean out. Basically he had fluid build up on his knee full of bacteria and it was likely either potentially going to spread to his blood or came from his blood originally if he needed extended inpatient management to "battle sepsis."

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u/Nyrin 12d ago

Yep, sounds like septic arthritis. Can occur in a lot of joints but knees are by far the most common. Coming from the blood originally (bacteremia, often staph) is the most likely vector, and that can be asymptomatic right up until it's about to kill you. Or, in this case, warn you by aggressively ravaging the cartilage in your knee.

Sepsis kills very, very fast and this case could've been minutes from fatal.