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Like Bill Clinton, Lake Worth Beach man was hospitalized with severe urinary tract infection

Palm Beach Post - 11/17/2021

Other than being in the same demographic, the last person that 73-year-old Chuck Lumio expected to have something in common with was Bill Clinton.

But last month — after Clinton, 75, was hospitalized for six days in the intensive care unit at the University of California Irvine Medical Center in order to treat a urinary tract infection — Lumio could certainly relate to what the former president was going through.

That's because around 13 years ago, the Lake Worth Beach resident also spent several days in a local ICU while being treated for, and recovering from, a severe urinary tract infection.

While the source of Clinton's urinary tract infection hasn't been reported, Lumio knows exactly how his infection occurred.

Having suffered for years from the effects of benign prostatic hyperplasia, Lumio underwent a surgical procedure called a transurethral resection of the prostate in order to relieve his symptoms.

"The 'TURP' procedure is considered the gold standard for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)," said Loxahatchee urologist Dr. Diego Rubinowicz of Urology Center of Palm Beach, who performed the operation on Lumio.

Lumio recalled that "the operation was successful, I left the hospital and a few days later the catheter was removed."

Lumio was pleased with how smoothly the aftermath had gone.

But a day or so later, things took a turn for the worse.

"My wife and I were out to dinner. Somehow, I had developed a severe urinary tract infection and the symptoms came on quickly," he said. "I began running a really high fever — 105 degrees at one point, which can be fatal — and went into convulsions. It escalated really quickly."

His wife rushed him to the Palms West Hospital emergency room, where he was diagnosed as septic and admitted to the ICU.

"The first two days I was in the ICU, I was floating in and out of awareness," said Lumio.

One thing he did recall, though, was that "Dr. Rubinowicz was by my bedside overnight and during the crucial first 12 hours or so of the crisis."

He was given medication to combat the infection and at some point "my pulse dropped dangerously low so the doctors rushed in again."

Throughout his hospitalization, Lumio said that he was "never in any pain but I do remember thinking in the ICU, 'Will this be it? Am I on the threshold of death?'"

Eventually, the medication got the infection under control and Lumio was discharged. He said he suffered no lasting effects from either the spiked temperature or the sepsis.

These days, said Lumio "my health is excellent. My prostate-specific antigen (PSA) score is below 1, the BPH is under control, my weight is good and I'm exercising at least an hour a day. I feel great."

But he also knows how fortunate he was to get immediate lifesaving treatment — because in the U.S., approximately 270,000 people die annually from sepsis.

While urinary tract infections are traditionally associated more with women than with men — around 1 in 5 women will experience one in her lifetime — they can occur in anyone at any time.

And according to Cleveland Clinic, the older one is, the higher the risk for developing one.

The primary symptoms of a urinary tract infection include having to urinate frequently, urgently and with some discomfort, burning sensations or general pain.

According to Rubinowicz, "The main risk factor for a man developing a urinary tract infection is the inability to completely empty the bladder. This most commonly occurs in men with BPH. Other conditions, such as kidney stones and/or bacterial prostatitis, are also common causes as well."

Rubinowicz explained that "in general, women are more prone to developing a urinary tract infection due to anatomical issues, which include a shorter urethra and the comparative ease of bacterial migration. In men, they are usually a result of an obstructive process, such as bladder outlet obstruction, which causes incomplete bladder emptying."

He added that "both men and women can get urinary infections from obstructive stone disease and neurogenic causes."

The primary treatment for a urinary tract infection is a course of antibiotics prescribed based on an analysis of the patient's urine culture.

Simultaneously, patients should also begin undergoing treatment for the underlying condition(s) — that is, kidney stones, obstructed of urinary tract, therapy for BPH, etc. — that likely led to the infection.

As long as a urinary tract infection is treated quickly, there shouldn't be any long-lasting damage and recovery should happen quickly.

However, noted Rubinowicz, "patients who develop uro sepsis, which is an infection that has spread into the bloodstream. This situation requires more aggressive treatment, including intravenous antibiotics, IV fluid hydration and other supportive protocols."

Sepsis, of course, is what happened with both former President Clinton and Lumio.

After Clinton was released from the hospital last month, he said he was "on the road to recovery but I want to remind everyone out there: Take the time to listen to your bodies and care for yourselves."

For men — especially older men — the best ways to reduce their risk of developing urinary tract infections (and even worse complications), is to "keep their weight under control, be as active as possible, manage all underlying medical conditions, including diabetes, and closely monitor baseline urinary function with annual urologic, prostate and kidney function exams," Rubinowicz recommended.

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