Sudbury man's biopsy turns into battle with a drug-resistant bug
Health Sciences North says bug can be hospital-acquired, but patients can also arrive already carrying it
When Ronald Romanko went to the Sudbury hospital for a precautionary prostate biopsy in September he never imagined he would spend the next three weeks there.
He ended up hospitalized fighting an antibiotic-resistant infection caused by something called Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL).
The bacteria is not as much of a household name as some of the other so-called superbugs such as C. difficile and MRSA, and because strains of ESBL are relatively common in the environment, it can be difficult to determine whether patients who fall ill pick it up inside or outside of the hospital.
All Ronald Romanko knows is he got very sick and it took weeks in hospital to get better. He shared his story with CBC News. Follow the radio documentary series on his journey through the healthcare system using the audio links below.
Anything but routine
Ronald Romanko had a hip replacement a few years back, and he has to watch his blood pressure, but other than that the 78-year-old has been blessed with relatively good health. But this fall he said his doctor recommended a prostate biopsy to check for signs of cancer.
'Something drastically wrong'
The prostate biopsy took less than an hour and Romanko said he headed home thinking all he would have to do is wait for the results. But a of couple days later he was back at the hospital emergency department.
Doing battle with ESBL
Romanko believes he picked up this ESBL infection during his treatment at the hospital — although it's difficult to determine exactly when and where patients contract the bacteria. But once an infection set in, Romanko said doctors at Health Sciences North spent three weeks saving his life.
Looking for answers
Following his three-week stay in hospital, it took months for Romanko to regain his strength. It has also took that long for the hospital to answer his questions about what happened and what is being done to make sure no one else has the same experience.