KEY POINTS:
A 91-year-old man infected with a superbug was sent home from hospital yesterday morning - only to be rushed back by ambulance after the condition showed up in a blood test.
The family of Sydney Travers - a World War II veteran - said he was sent home despite being infected with antibiotic-resistant extended-spectrum B-lactamases (ESBL).
Daughter Gail Richards said her dad was at his West Auckland rest home for just "two minutes" when the hospital called and an ambulance was sent.
Mrs Richards was upset he was discharged before the test result arrived.
"I'm totally stressed and baffled. The hospital rang and said, 'Oops, sorry, can you send him back immediately? We've stuffed up. He's got this superbug'."
Auckland City Hospital, which discharged Mr Travers, said it provided appropriate treatment and he was fit to go home.
A spokeswoman said "subsequent" test results were common and in this instance showed Mr Travers needed further antibiotic treatment.
The ESBL superbug used to be relatively uncommon but the number of cases has risen markedly since 2000, with most occurring in Auckland and Hawkes Bay.
Latest figures from the Institute of Environmental Science & Research show there were 51 cases in Auckland in a four-week period in 2006, some contracted in the community and some in hospitals.
During a spate of cases at North Shore Hospital last year, infected patients were put in isolation or "cohorted" together and staff wore protective gloves and gowns.
The Ministry of Health plans to issue guidelines for the control of ESBL in coming months.
Biochemistry professor Kurt Krause of the University of Otago said it tended to make illnesses harder to treat but did not make patients sicker.
"If you have a urinary tract infection with an ESBL, it means the antibiotic that you choose has to be effective against such a bug.
"If he was clinically fit for discharge, the question is why was he called back."
Professor Krause said it was hard to determine if the superbug would have been spread in the incident without knowing the specifics of the case.
"If he's not in contact with other patients, then the chances might be remote," he said.
"A lot of these bugs are not particularly contagious to healthy people but if he's in a rest home, then the rest-home people tend to be somewhat more susceptible."
