20% drop in PFTs - Has this happened to anyone?

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CFSanDiego

New member
Hi. This is Edan. My account somehow got wiped out. I have a question...

My daughter was coughing for nearly 3 weeks as the result of a PND (I think). After 2 weeks, I brought her to the pediatrician. Lungs/ears/nose/throat all clear. A week later she saw the ent. He saw nothing but started her on augmentin 500 2x/day for 21 days (she has a history of unexplained snoring that is cleared up by antibiotics). He also started her on a nasal steroid. Well, the cough seemed to get a little better and looser. Yesterday (13 days on the augmentin) she was still coughing from a few inches below her throat...the bronchials I believe...and finally seen by her pulmonologist (long story here as I tried to get her in for 2 weeks). FEV1 dropped from 111% to 89%. fef 25-75 went from 80% to 52%. He then took a culture and put her on azythromycin for 7 day course (in addition to finishing out augmentin). I should also mention that they had her nebulize albuterol and the pfts went up to fev1 99% and fef 25-75 74%

Has this happened to anyone else before as the result of a cold/virus/bacterial infection and did it resolve without hospitalization? She is running around like crazy and has been jumping on her trampoline for an hour straight without any indications of respiratory distress.

Needless to say I am a little freaked out about it all.

Thanks in advance

Edan
mother to 5 yo dd (df508/3849+10kbc->t)
 
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mysticrose

New member
My oldest just went from 70% down to 40% and aside from an incredibly nasty wet cough and very slight weazing we had no idea it was THAT low. The only thing she cultured was moderate staph. We just got done with 3 weeks of IV's, a round of prednisone and increased vest times. Her PFT's went back up and past her previous. She is now over 80% for her PFTs. This was all done after she had done several rounds of oral antibiotics.

From the way it was explained to me by the docs was if there is an increase in lung funtion after doing albuteral there is a chance of asthma along with CF. Which would mean adding albuteral to her daily routine if she isn't doing it already. That being said a few yrs ago my DD's PFT's increased with albuteral but when they redid the same test last week there was no increase.

Hope this helps some!

Jen. mom to 4 kiddos. 3 w/cf and one lucky red head.
 
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Rebjane

Super Moderator
Has happened to my daughter. She had a nasty viral infection which exacerbates her bacterial load. She was treated with oral steroids(high dose) for 5 days and her heavy duty antibitotics. Also, add in extra albuterol and Vest treatments.

Did the culture report come back? Is her o2 sat ok? What do her lungs sound like? My daughter when she had that drop was tight and wheezy in her lungs. She has alot of inflammation issues in her lungs. She also nebulizes Pulmicort(has been since she was 2 1/2).

What did the CF doctor say?

My daughter's PFT's did improve after treamtnent but we were seeing the CF doc nearly every 2 weeks to keep checking her PFT's. SHe did not get hsopitalized and her PFt's bounced back(I think likely the Prednisone helps her ALOT), but it was nearly an admission.
 
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JENNYC

New member
It happened to Abby about half a year ago and we didn't expect it at all, she had no symptoms. The dr put her in for a "tune-up" on IV meds and what ever bug dropped her PFT must have been zapped by the IV meds because Abby bounced right back to her normal PFT's. Hope she gets better soon!!
 
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ContinuallyRefined

New member
"Has this happened to anyone else before as the result of a cold/virus/bacterial infection and did it resolve without hospitalization? She is running around like crazy and has been jumping on her trampoline for an hour straight without any indications of respiratory distress."

My experience was always that while above 40% FEV1 it was numbers and numbers alone that indicated treatments. How I felt and what I was able to do could be misleading. I'm so glad you're being proactive and looking to gain back that 20% be it though IV's or other aggressive means. Wish I did that a lot more when I was 80% or higher. Nice work!! That's of concern that you couldn't get in for 2 weeks. I've been treated at numerous CF centers over the decades and they always made room for an appointment when things were of concern to me. Hopefully your experience was isolated!
 
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CFSanDiego

New member
Thanks everyone. Your input really meant ALOT. After 2 doses of azithromycin, it appears things are turning a corner for the better. Time will tell. I can't wait to see what bug was causing this nonsense that augmentin couldn't get to.

Edan.
 
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ymikhale

New member
my dd went through soemthing like that a few months ago (they did not do pfts on her but the cough was constant). She has hyper sensitive lungs and allergies, they put her on anti histamines, Seritide & Albuterol (not sure of US equivalent) and oral antibiotics to treat her Haemophlius, she would get better for a few days and then back to non stop cough. After 2 months of searching and trying she was put on Singulair and now (touch wood) the cough is gone. Our doctor says that she reacts to every virus and allergen b/c of inflammation issues, so we should expect this kind of reaction regaularly, it is just a matter of controlling it before it turns into infection.
PS. We were also treated by azithro for 7 days, we were told it is to treat some rare bacteria (can't rezmember the name) that can only be detected by blood test. did not do any good to us.
hope she feels better soon.
 
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