E. Coli Infection: Blood and Kidney Problems - Topic Overview
Severe problems affecting the blood and kidneys may develop in a small number of people (about 8%) infected with E. coli O157:H7 who get sick enough to go to the hospital.1 These problems include anemia, a low number of platelets in the blood, the formation of small blood clots, and kidney (renal) failure.
Sometimes brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) complications also develop. Serious long-term damage to the kidneys and nervous system, as well as death, can occur.
Understanding Food Poisoning -- Symptoms
Generally, food poisoning causes some combination of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that may or may not be bloody, sometimes with other symptoms. After eating tainted food, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting, can start as early as one hour in the case of staph and as late as 10 days in the case of campylobacter. It may take even longer to develop symptoms from parasite infections such as Giardia. Symptoms can last from one day up to a couple of months or longer, depending on the type of...
Read the Understanding Food Poisoning -- Symptoms article > >
This set of problems is known as either hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). These two conditions are now thought to be different forms of the same disease.
Symptoms
Symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura may include:
- Pale skin (caused by anemia).
- Weakness or fatigue (caused by anemia).
- Passing only small amounts of urine.
- Small dark patches or dots on the skin (purpura).
- Nervous system
problems. Examples include:
- Irritability.
- Tiredness or lack of energy.
- Seizures.
- Coma.
- Inability to move one side of the body (hemiparesis).
- Long-term nervous system complications. Examples
include:
- Intellectual disability.
- Slowness of movement.
- Blindness.
People who have been diagnosed with E. coli infection should be monitored carefully for these problems. This is especially important for children and older adults. They should have blood and urine tests rather than waiting for symptoms to develop. Monitoring should begin as soon as the diagnosis is made and continue for 2 weeks after diarrhea starts.
Risk factors
The following factors may put you at higher-than-average risk of developing blood and kidney problems from E. coli infection:
- Being treated with antibiotics
- Being younger than 5 or older than 65 years old
- Being treated with antidiarrheal medicines
- Having bloody diarrhea
- Having a high white blood cell count
- Having a high fever
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
E. Coli Infection: Blood and Kidney Problems Topics
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