need help with culture results

December 30, 2003

I am 4 hours away from home and am staying with relatives. When we left my

daughter just started getting a cold. It has gotten a lot worse and we can't

tell wheather she has a sinus infection, pneumonia or both. We took her to a

doctor around here and of course he does not know a lot about cf. He

listened to her lungs and said that they were fine and did not do an xray.

He put her on zithromax because she was on it before and had no problems. He

also did a nasal culture. He gave us a copy of the results today but I don't

totally understand them. This is what it looks like:

------culture results-------

heavy growth of staphylococcus aureus

Resistance due to probable acquired beta lactamase.

Beta-lactamase resistant penicillins and penicillin inhibitor combinations

usually remain active.

heavy growth Gram-negative rods, Haemophilus-like

heavy growth Gram-negative rods

------sensitivity results---------

staph aureus

MIC

cefazolin <=8 S

clindamycin <=0.5 S

erythromycin <=0.5 S

oxacillin 0.5 S

penicillin >=16 R

vancomycin 2 S

I don't know what is going on or what to do. She has always cultured staph

which is gram-positive. The zithromax should take care of that if that is

the problem shouldn't it? The only other thing she has cultured is

stenotrophomonas maltophilia. That would be a gram negative bacteria. The

results don't identify the bacteria other than as being " gram negative

rods. " There is no way to tell which bacteria is causing the problem is

there? Should I have her switched to a broad spectrum antibiotic that kills

both gram negative and positive bacteria? She has been on the zithromax for

4 days and is a little better. We are suppose to go home in 2 or 3 days. I

don't know if I should wait until we get back and see her regular doctor or

what. Any help or suggestions would be very, very appreciated.

Holly, mother of Kennedy, almost 2 with cf

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