Running Fevers

[kgfrompa]

I have been running Fevers off and on since I can remember.The thing is I hardly ever grow anything.I do cough up so much junk.Can someone tell me am i the only one that has fevers each and every day without growing anything in my cultures?Thank you

 

[kgfrompa]

I have been running Fevers off and on since I can remember.The thing is I hardly ever grow anything.I do cough up so much junk.Can someone tell me am i the only one that has fevers each and every day without growing anything in my cultures?Thank you

 

[Melissa75]

You should mention this to your doctor, and possibly treat empirically or get a bronchoscopy. You may not be coughing up the right gunk and the bronch could reach it. Or you may have bacteria that doesn't survive the petri dish. I had a long period with normal cultures and yet I responded well to Avelox but not some other abs--that's the empiric part, not so great for preventing resistance, but you weigh the pros and cons. The speculation was that I was getting infected by anaerobic bacteria -- stomach contents. Autoimmune/inflammation fevers may be a possibility too.

 

[Melissa75]

You should mention this to your doctor, and possibly treat empirically or get a bronchoscopy. You may not be coughing up the right gunk and the bronch could reach it. Or you may have bacteria that doesn't survive the petri dish. I had a long period with normal cultures and yet I responded well to Avelox but not some other abs--that's the empiric part, not so great for preventing resistance, but you weigh the pros and cons. The speculation was that I was getting infected by anaerobic bacteria -- stomach contents. Autoimmune/inflammation fevers may be a possibility too.

 

[kgfrompa]

I am going to Clinic next week I never thought some of my cultures could be negitive when they where growing Bacteria.Thank you

 

[kgfrompa]

I am going to Clinic next week I never thought some of my cultures could be negitive when they where growing Bacteria.Thank you

 

[TonyaH]

Cultures run from sputum samples are not at all conclusive. That, to me, is one of the most frustrating things about this disease. It's completely possible that your samples are coming from airways that do not have any infection present, while the infection causing your fevers is trapped in another lobe, another airway, etc.
Bronchoscopies are a bit better, but again, it is impossible for the doctor to see every little passage in your lungs, and even harder to TEST every bit.
One question that might be worth asking is whether or not your clinic routinely tests for mycobacterial infections. If they are an accredited center they should, but it still wouldn't hurt to ask. These tests take longer to grow out and pick up bugs like mycobacterium abcessus and MAC (mycobacterium avium complex) that can cause fever.
Good luck finding the cause of the fevers, and I hope you feel better soon!

 

[TonyaH]

Cultures run from sputum samples are not at all conclusive. That, to me, is one of the most frustrating things about this disease. It's completely possible that your samples are coming from airways that do not have any infection present, while the infection causing your fevers is trapped in another lobe, another airway, etc.
Bronchoscopies are a bit better, but again, it is impossible for the doctor to see every little passage in your lungs, and even harder to TEST every bit.
One question that might be worth asking is whether or not your clinic routinely tests for mycobacterial infections. If they are an accredited center they should, but it still wouldn't hurt to ask. These tests take longer to grow out and pick up bugs like mycobacterium abcessus and MAC (mycobacterium avium complex) that can cause fever.
Good luck finding the cause of the fevers, and I hope you feel better soon!

 

[JustDucky]

I think something is being missed, I agree with the above posters. Just because a culture is negative doesn't mean that there aren't any bacteria present in your lungs. You probably aren't giving good samples or the bacteria are hiding in the deep recesses of your lungs. Your doc definitely should check for MAC....fevers are common with that bug, and it is a slow growing one so if they aren't looking for it, it can be missed. A bronch might be helpful to get samples from deeper parts of your lungs....I can honestly say that the results from my bronchs were different from what I was coughing up. Steno and Cepacia were found in my bronch samples, but weren't in my sputum cultures. They had grown in the past, but because we had several negative sputum samples, we erroneously thought that I was in the clear from these bugs. I still felt bad and was running fevers, so something was amiss. Thankfully the bronch picked the bugs up and I got the correct treatment and felt better fairly soon thereafter.

I hope that the doc further investigates the source of your fevers and just doesn't fluff you off. Fevers are a symptom of some process in your body, he shouldn't ignore that. Low grade fevers are typically the first symptoms of a brewing infection in my case and the red flag goes up whenever that happens.

Praying for answers in your case,
Jenn 40 w/CF

 

[JustDucky]

I think something is being missed, I agree with the above posters. Just because a culture is negative doesn't mean that there aren't any bacteria present in your lungs. You probably aren't giving good samples or the bacteria are hiding in the deep recesses of your lungs. Your doc definitely should check for MAC....fevers are common with that bug, and it is a slow growing one so if they aren't looking for it, it can be missed. A bronch might be helpful to get samples from deeper parts of your lungs....I can honestly say that the results from my bronchs were different from what I was coughing up. Steno and Cepacia were found in my bronch samples, but weren't in my sputum cultures. They had grown in the past, but because we had several negative sputum samples, we erroneously thought that I was in the clear from these bugs. I still felt bad and was running fevers, so something was amiss. Thankfully the bronch picked the bugs up and I got the correct treatment and felt better fairly soon thereafter.

I hope that the doc further investigates the source of your fevers and just doesn't fluff you off. Fevers are a symptom of some process in your body, he shouldn't ignore that. Low grade fevers are typically the first symptoms of a brewing infection in my case and the red flag goes up whenever that happens.

Praying for answers in your case,
Jenn 40 w/CF