Haematogenous spread, secondary sites and post-infectious complications
Why bacteraemia seeds particular sites, which organisms go where, and how the latent period separates infection-driven from immune-mediated complications such as rheumatic fever, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, reactive arthritis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and HUS.
Tier 2Medical sciences concept
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Organisms reach distant sites by haematogenous spread, lymphatics, contiguous spread or along nerves. Bacteraemia seeds sites with slow flow, end arteries, fenestrated capillaries or foreign material.
- Secondary (metastatic) sites contain the organism, so they need drainage and longer antibiotics.
- Post-infectious complications happen after a latent period of days to weeks and are sterile. The damage is immune: molecular mimicry, immune complexes or toxin.
Loading the rest of the note…
Finished reading?
Sources
- Australian guideline for the prevention, diagnosis and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (Edition 3.4, October 2026)AU/NZRHDAustralia (Menzies School of Health Research), Edition 3.4, October 2026
- Therapeutic Guidelines: AntibioticAU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited, 2024
- Mandell, Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases (9th ed.)Elsevier (Bennett, Dolin and Blaser, 2020), 2020
- Fowler VG et al. Clinical identifiers of complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Arch Intern Med 2003;163:2066-72Archives of Internal Medicine, 2003
- Yuki N, Hartung HP. Guillain-Barré syndrome. N Engl J Med 2012;366:2294-304New England Journal of Medicine, 2012
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Turnstile bot check on sign-in and signed-out feedback