Doctors at the Emergency Department - Central Tropical Diseases Hospital have just successfully treated a 66-year-old female patient (residing in Hung Yen) suffering from septic shock, critical multiple organ failure due to small ureteral stones causing urinary tract obstruction.
According to family members, about two days before being admitted to the hospital, the patient developed a high fever of 39 degrees Celsius accompanied by chills, painful urination, and frequent urination. Although he had self-medicated with fever-reducing medicine at home, the symptoms did not subside, and the body became increasingly tired, so he was taken to a nearby medical facility.
Here, the patient quickly fell into a severe condition with low blood pressure, shortness of breath and respiratory failure, forced to have endotracheal intubation for emergency treatment and then urgently transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases overnight.
Examination results showed that the patient had severe septic shock due to urinary tract infection. Blood pressure dropped deeply, liver enzymes increased, kidney function declined, and blood clotting disorders appeared.
Notably, the cause of the critical condition was only a urethral stone about 3mm in size located in the basal ureter. This small stone blocked the urine flow, creating conditions for bacteria to grow strongly and cause widespread infection.
Doctors performed intensive resuscitation, used strong antibiotics, combined with urinary drainage intervention to release the obstruction. After the treatment process, the patient's health gradually stabilized and passed the critical condition.
BSNT Phan Van Manh, National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said that many people are often subjective about small-sized ureteral stones because they think they are not dangerous. However, the ureter is a very narrow structure, just a few millimeters of stones can cause blockage, causing urine to stagnate and lead to severe infection.
Doctors recommend that when symptoms such as high fever, chills, back pain, painful urination or prolonged frequent urination appear, people need to go to a medical facility for early examination to avoid dangerous complications that may threaten their lives.
