Health Department Probes Dozens Of Infections At Monmouth Pain Center

WALL, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A rash of infections has prompted the closure of a Monmouth county pain management center.

As CBS2's Meg Baker reported, more than 30 patients who received knee injections wound up with an infection.

Some even needed surgery.

Mary Adams said she had been experiencing knee pain from years of working on her feet as a chef in New York City. She went to the Osteo Relief Institute in Wall Township.

"I was getting pain in my knee and they said they could get rid of pain without any surgery, and so I ended up here," she said.

Bed ridden in a rehab center -- Adams developed a serious infection of sepsis from a knee pain injection.

She said it was her second injection at the institute and within hours she knew something was wrong.

She went back to the private practice off of Route 34 south, but said she was given little help.

"I went back to them, they didn't pay no kind of attention to me so I told my daughter take me to emergency, they admitted me, did emergency surgery," she said.

The New Jersey Department of Health is investigating 31 cases of knee injections so far.

"Infection control issues were found during an inspection by state and local investigators on March 13," the agency said.

Emergency room physician Allen Nau from Centrastate Medical Center explained the seriousness fo these cases.

"It can be catastrophic. An undiagnosed septic joint can lead to destruction of the joint, sepsis throughout the body -- needs to be diagnosed early on," he said.

He said the bacteria can manifest into pain, fever, and chills.

Osteo Relief stopped administering the injections on March 8. On Monday, there was no answer at the door, and no response to CBS2's calls.

So far Adams has spent eight days in the hospital, and nine days in rehab. She said she prays to be able to get back up on her feet, and cook a homemade meal.

Many of the infected patients have already retained lawyers.