mucoid vs non-mucoid Pa

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,

Mucoid Pa has formed a sugar shell around the bacteria that makes it impermeable

to antibiotics. Not only is

this a problem for people that culture Pa in their lungs or open wounds, but

it's also a problem for businesses

that use water for processing or production, such as water pipes in dentists'

offices, bottled water dispensers in

grocery stores, fisheries, etc.

Labs identify what they find in sputum, referring to them as isolates. So your

lab print-outs will say something

like " Isolate 1: Pseudomonas. Isolate 2: Staph, " etc.

There are different strains of Pa with PAO1 the most common. The lab report

should state whether it's mucoid.

If it doesn't say mucoid, then generally it is assumed to be non-mucoid.

If you don't request copies of all lab reports (sputum, blood, PFT print-out's

and radiologist report) after each

visit, then you should. Believe me, someday you'll wish you had them to refer

to. Even when the doctor or nurse

calls you with a lab result, we often forget down the road.

We put all copies of medical work into a large 3-ring binder. It's divided into

years so I can refer to all lab work

and PFTs by any given year.

--- " dwson2 " <sara@d...> wrote:

> Zach's only been on Zmax for ear infections. I have heard great

> things about taking Zmax three times a week. Maybe this will work

> for Abby.

> Could you explain the difference between the mucoid and non-mucoid

> PA? My clinic didn't mention which one Zach had and I didn't know

> to ask.

> Sara

>

>

> > Our clinic visit went fine. We were given a room that had not

> been

> > used yet that morning. Squeaky wheel.... Abby is 97th percentile

> > for wt. and 90th for ht. Got a good throat swab and hopefully

> won't

> > grow anything. In the event the intermittent Pa is back I talked

> to

> > Dr. Spencer about Zithromax. From what I've read it's usually

> given

> > to those with chronic Pa and is very effective in suppressing it.

> It

> > is not anti-pseudomonal but has some anti-inflammatory properties

> > that keep the Pa thrown off balance and make it harder for it to

> make

> > biofilm. We know that most of the time the Pa will be

> intermittant

> > and non-mucoid for awhile at first. The study I looked at said

> that

> > statistically on avg. it turns mucoid within a couple of years.

> That

> > may have been an old study but never the less it seems to me that

> if

> > we started her on a Z-max regimen now (if the Pa is back) then

> > possibly it could postpone the mucoid Pa from colonizing. Spencer

> > acted like he would definitely be interested in trying it and

> would

> > talk to the team. Of course this all depends on her culture

> > results. He said " she would probably be the youngest person in

> the

> > country on it. " Which surprised me. Are any of your little ones

> on

> > azithromycin? Abby is 15 mos. What do y'all think about this?

> >

> > Joe