Very Ill Elderley Lady

[Bazile]

Elderley Diabetic lady ( bed bound ) has been taking the medication , Phenoxymethyl Penicillin and also Erythromycin for quite a number of years , following a hip operation that failed and became infected at the time .
Over the years the wound has never been a major problem

A few months ago the drugs were stopped by GP ,following release from hospital , where she was admitted for a chest infection .

She was readmitted to hospital last week , because the site of the wound on the hip has deteriorated and also because she has recently become almost non responsive .
Apparently she has an infection in the wound which has gone into her blood .
I beleive they said that she has also got MRSA , now .

My question is -

Is it just a coincidence that the wound (which has not been a significant problem for some years now ) has suddenly deteriorated , following the Phenoxymethyl Penicillin and also Erythromycin being stopped .

OR is it likely that stopping the said medication has caused the the wound to rapidly deteriorate ?

[Jackdaw33]

It pains me to say so, but I would opt for the latter.

[Sqad]

\\\Elderley Diabetic lady ( bed bound ) has been taking the medication , Phenoxymethyl Penicillin and also Erythromycin for quite a number of years , following a hip operation that failed and became infected at the time \\\\

Is that correct? What everyday for years? Surely not?

Who knows Bazile and it seems an academic point as it sounds as though she is "on the way out"

It does sound as though she may well have had osteomyelitis in the wound. All in all a pretty rough kettle of fish.

[Jackdaw33]

I have been taking Erythromycin daily for the past 15 years as I had my spleen removed when I was young.

[Bazile]

sqad

//Is that correct? What everyday for years? Surely not? //

Indeed that is correct .

Would the said medication still be effective after all the years she has been taking it ?

[Sqad]

\\\\Would the said medication still be effective after all the years she has been taking it ?\\\

That is a very good question. It would seem that a resistant form of organism has developed Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) which would not be touched by Erythromicin and or Penicillin and really I have no idea who one would "blame" for that state of affairs.

[Sqad]

Jackdaw........different "ball game."

Yours is for prophylaxis (prevention) Bazile's friend is for treatment.