About Gary Expertise Will attempt to answer any question on respiratory disease, but please don`t ask me to make a diagnosis. Although I`ve worked as a respiratory specialist nurse in the UK for 6 years, I know nothing about the health systems of other countries. I have a particular interest in asthma, COPD, spirometry, and tuberculosis.
Question My 78-yr old mother has had bronchiectasis since she was a little girl. Recently she had pneumonia went to the hospital into ICU and was put on a ventilator, approx 2 weeks later they did a trech? surgery to take her off the ventilator. For the last two weeks of her 2 month hospital stay, she was sent to an extended care facility for therapy (to talk and walk) She was finally able to do these things are her own and received a clean bill of health from her pulmonoligist, who said she was to be released from the facility in three days. Withing 6 hours of her release, she had a relapse and is once again in ICU on a ventilator. The pulmonoligist was shocked and unsure of the reason for relapse. They are giving her every antibiotic possible at this current time.
The care facility she was at was remodeling, and walls and molding were torn apart and construction dust everywhere. The facility used big oscillating fans to blow down the hallways to the patients rooms and had fans in the patient's rooms also. Her pulmonoligist is unaware of the condition the facility is in.
My question, could this environment have been part of the reason for my Mum's relapse? Should we advise the pulmonoligist? What might show in the cultures taken from my Mum's lungs that would point to dust?
Thank you
Answer Hi Andrea
Thanks for the question. Routine sputum culture for dust would be unhelpful in this situation. House dust is mainly made up of skin scales shed by ourselves, so there would be organic matter in it that would grow in culture. However, dust from the renovation of a building will contain different particles (depending on what the walls etc were constructed of). These aren't organic and wouldn't grow in culture medium. I think the best thing is to tell the Pulmonologist about your concerns and let him decide if there's a link between the conditions in the care facility and your mother's deterioration. I'm sorry but I don't have the knowledge to comment further than this. Good luck with this and I hope she recovers soon.
Kind regards
Gary
