“Sometimes it is as if I have a sixth sense for detecting infection -- it glares at me,” says Dr. Utpat, who specializes in infectious disease and is a member of the Infection Control team at Kimball Medical Center.
Dr. Utpat admits to having a high level of curiosity and enjoys the detective work involved with identifying infection. “There is no particular algorithym for the diagnosis of infection because it is not restricted to a single organ system in the body,” explains Dr. Utpat. “I must also differentiate fever and chills caused by infection from similar symptoms caused by other non-infectious diseases. The first challenge lies in determining what tests to order.” Dr. Utpat points out.
Attracted to the specialty as a young woman in her native India, Dr. Utpat recalls seeing young people die of infection long before they developed other illnesses like cancer or heart disease. “It is a fine line between treating infection aggresively and overusing antibiotics,” she observes. Dr. Utpat believes that determining when not to use an antibiotic can be just as important as prescribing the correct antibiotic. “I see my patients as a whole and try to help families determine if an antibiotic will improve the life of their loved one.” For example, an elderly patient with endstage disease and dependent on a ventilator who develops recurrent respiratory infections may choose not to be treated with an antibiotic. “In some cases an antibiotic may prolong life, but it will not improve the quality of life. These are difficult decisions that must be made with the whole health care team and the family.”
Dr. Utpat enjoys keeping pace with constant changes in a field that is continually addressing new threats like avian flu and multi-drug resistant organisms. “The endless challenge to find stratagies for dealing with new infections that can change their nature and toxins makes this dynamic and exciting work, ” she explains.
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