Blood cultures post op

[jade100]

Hi all,

Well today I was discharged from hospital on day 7 post op. I'm feeling good but it's been a bit of a bumpy road & would be glad to hear of any similar stories/advice to put my mind at rest?!

I had a temperature for 5 days post op but they said this was normal. They did blood cultures on Friday to see if they coud grow any bugs in my blood and they came back clear. I had chest X-rays which were clear & urine. Also has an ultrasound & my left ventricle is already reducing in size. But they sent away my old valve for testing and the valve came back clear but histopathology showed some microscopic gram + cocci bugs. The docs said this was very confusing as the valve & Fridays bloods were clear. They are waiting for these results to decide whether to give me antibiotics or not. The infectious diseases doc/cardio thoracic doc & endocarditis specialist are going to discuss & see what to do.

Obviously we are terrified as it is endocarditis that started all this & our worst fear is having the valve attacked again.

I'm not sure why they didn't put me in antibiotics post op to reduce the risk of this? They obviously don't see the need to but it's such a worry. The good thing I suppose is that that old diseased valve is out now.

Now we just have 2 days of waiting ahead of us again. The discomfort of all this is nothing compared to the worry :-(

 

[Bina]

How great that you are out of hospital !! I don't have any experience with endo, but I did have a very low fever for a few days post op.
Best wishes with the blood work.

 

[sarahsunshine]

Glad to hear you are out.

My step son had an infection, but of the incision, not in the valve. They did go in and re-operate, though, to clean him out, and then he was on intravenous antibiotice for 6 weeks... not exactly a cup of tea for a 13yo, but better than being in the hospital!

Hope your cultures come back negative!

 

[Forrest]

Jade100,
It’s good to hear you’ve made it through surgery and have been discharged. I can relate to the “worry” side of Endocarditis, it too made my surgery/recovery experience a bit more stressful than it would have been if I hadn’t contracted it just a few months before my surgery. The good thing is that you have a team of specialists reviewing this additional aspect of your care. And you sound vigilant about things such that you’ll let them know if you experience sudden fevers or even mild intermittent fevers, among anything else they tell you to watch for. Don’t hesitate to ask them questions about this matter until you feel comfortable with your care.

I believe most medical schools stress that Endocarditis is high on the list of diagnoses that doctors can’t afford to miss. Probably because in general it’s easy to assume that you’re dealing with a patient with normal functioning heart valves and because the symptoms can sometimes be dismissed in error as a flu or some other self-recoverable illness; but even more so because it’s a very dangerous infection that needs prompt specific treatment. But you are a heart valve patient so your doctors should be even more acutely aware of your situation. Also, you mention the team of specialists reviewing this issue includes an Infectious Disease doctor, that doctor should be well versed in the details of Endocarditis.

Time has helped me gain confidence that I more than likely won’t contract Endocarditis again. I remind myself that it is rare, although less rare for valve patients, but still a low occurrence. But because I have a prior history of Endocarditis the inpatient cardiologist that helped treat me for Endocarditis reminded me that I should be thoroughly aware of the symptoms, as a safeguard against a repeat occurrence. I take extra good care of myself to maintain a healthy immune system and take my pills before a dental visit. I know that even my primary care doc would run a blood culture if we were just a little suspicious of a bacterial infection. My personal opinion when dealing with health care staff outside of cardiology is that I don’t always just assume they are up to speed on Endocarditis, so it’s up to me to ask questions and remind staff that I have a prosthetic heart valve. For example, besides dental, if you ever need a gastrointestinal or genitourinary procedure performed. I also don’t just listen to medical office staff or a health care technician (not that they’re not knowledgeable) when it comes to anything that relates to my blood stream.

All in all, I don’t worry about it as much as I use to, I know I’m proactive, take precautions and know that it’s usually more a luck (un-luck) of the draw kind of thing, and usually low occurrence. But I totally understand your current concern, as you’re in that important initial healing time where your unique circumstances make you feel more vulnerable. I like how you’re watchful and will keep asking your surgeon questions about this matter. I hope their review of your old valve and your blood work continues to show that you’re proceeding with a total recovery. I’m glad you and they are on top of things. Nothing wrong with you staying on them until you hear what’s going on. Over time you should get past this and back to your adventures.

PS: I’m not a doctor, just one person who had Endocarditis. I hope you hear from others’ experiences as well, and that your doctors keep you apprised.

 

[Sarah_Louise]

Hi Ross, from another brit
After my AV replacement in 2007 i had a temperature, in fact it went on for 3 weeks, and extended my time in hospital each time it went up they took bloods and still to this day could never find a cause for it! It was just put down to the fact that because i was cooled for the bypass machine, my body had a heck of a time trying to get back to normal body temperature in PICU after the opperation,
Glad your home,
Take it easy Where abouts did you have your op done? xxxx

 

[Forrest]

Hi Jade100,
Just a clarification on my above post, mainly for others reading about Endocarditis since you having prior experience are already aware of the topic. Where I said the inpatient cardiologist treating me for my prior Endocarditis reminded me that since I had the infection before I need to be thoroughly aware of the symptoms, what I meant by this is he wanted me to recognize the symptoms quickly in case I ever came down with the infection again, so I could get into treatment before it progresses further. Of course, I take all the precautions that can be reasonably taken to avoid a repeat occurrence.

Please update us as you go through recovery and get back doing the things you enjoy.

 

[normofthenorth]

I posted recently about my BE false alarm -- yup, still seems false. Most investigations of suspected BE wouldn't even include histopathology, so your team is investigating a concern after all the "normal" tests came up clear. I think that should be reassuring. Do you know what the histopathology exam consists of? An examination of your old valve? Does it show live bacteria or just signs of a former infection (which you already knew about)?

 

[Gribur]

Hi there and glad to hear things are going well. I was lucky enough not to run a fever right after surgery but my roomate did, it kept him in longer then he wanted but it was considered normal. I was given a course of antibiotics right after surgery to avoid infection, It was common practice that all the valve patients recieved it. Best of luck, take care