Dad did great through treatment, now that we are home he has a high fever with no cause!

peachycream
peachycream Member Posts: 33
edited March 2014 in Esophageal Cancer #1
So my dad went through treatment well. We came home Thursday, and Sunday he developed a fever of 102.5. We took him to the ER and they gave him a bag of antibiotics but he was allergic to it; however, he finished nearly the whole bag before he broke out (it was levaquin). They did blood cultures and called an oncologist there (we live in Mississippi and were treated at MD Anderson in Houston Texas) and he said everything was great and just to monitor his fever. He is still sick! What could be the cause? I'm thinking our best bet would be to take him back to Texas...

Comments

  • nancyann3
    nancyann3 Member Posts: 173 Member
    #2
    Dont waist time
    I wouldn't wait around with a fever like that. Talk to his treatment center.

    There are other things that can cause fever. Infection is one thing and blood clots is another. (hubby just got out of hosp with pneumonia and blood clots in lungs)he had no symptoms other then fever.

    Chemo makes it hard to stay hydrated and a fever will make it worse. So I wouldn't wait.

    Take care
    Nancy
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • paul61
    paul61 Member Posts: 1,392 Member
    #4
    I would get in contact with your Oncologist at MD Anderson
    I would do two things very quickly:

    1. I would contact the Oncologist that treated your dad at MD Anderson and see what they suggest you should do next.

    2. I would investigate an approach to get him IV hydration on a regular basis until the fever issue gets resolved. Sometimes you can arrange to have a home nurse come in and help you with that if your physician recommends it.

    I would not let this resolve itself on it's own with your dad's reduced immune system capabilities this needs to be addressed aggressively and I would think your dad's oncologist at MD Anderson would be the best person to assist.d

    And of course we will be praying for your dad.

    Paul Adams
    AKA "paul61"
    McCormick, South Carolina
  • tamster
    tamster Member Posts: 7
    #5
    Fever Work up
    HI,

    The standard fever work up for a cancer patient in the ED should include Blood cultures, Chest xray, urine cultures and if the patient is a chemo patient then a complete blood count to determine the absolute neutrophil count (a count of a particular kind of white blood cell) should also be obtained. Admission to the hospital can sometimes be solely based on a low Absolute Neutrophil Count in the setting of fever.

    I agree you should get his oncologist on board for recommendations as soon as possible seeing they know him better than anyone else at this time. They can help you get the right evaluation and treatment.

    Your father needs close follow up even if his treatment was in Texas. If he has a primary care doctor in your area maybe they can help coordinate care as well (but the oncologist is the best at treating the complexity of your dad's illness right now).

    Hope this helps some.
    Tammy
  • timp
    timp Member Posts: 14
    #6
    Check for Infection
    Is he having any nausea, vomiting, diarrhea? My wife came down with a C.Difficile infection after starting chemo. Really nasty stuff that put her in the hospital for a week. She spiked a high fever and had chills. Diagnosis is via stool cultures. I pray this is not the cause of your problems.

    Timp
  • Donna70
    Donna70 Member Posts: 852 Member
    #7
    neutropenic fever
    HI,
    After my last chemo treatment before surgery, I developed a fever not as high as your Dads but we are told at our cancer center to call our drs when the fever is 100.5 or over. They had me go to the ER of the same hospital where my cancer treatment was and I was admitted with neutropenic fever, something people get after chemo from their counts going too low. I was in 8 days with numerous bags of antibiotics and fluids and other stuff, blood etc. So I think your Dad needs to go back to AD Anderson or you call them and they advise another hospital of what treatment and tests he needs. After chemo there is no such thing as fever without a cause, there is always a cause. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your Dad. Keep us posted. Good luck.
    Donna70
  • Tina Blondek
    Tina Blondek Member Posts: 1,500 Member
    #8
    Donna70 said:

    neutropenic fever
    HI,
    After my last chemo treatment before surgery, I developed a fever not as high as your Dads but we are told at our cancer center to call our drs when the fever is 100.5 or over. They had me go to the ER of the same hospital where my cancer treatment was and I was admitted with neutropenic fever, something people get after chemo from their counts going too low. I was in 8 days with numerous bags of antibiotics and fluids and other stuff, blood etc. So I think your Dad needs to go back to AD Anderson or you call them and they advise another hospital of what treatment and tests he needs. After chemo there is no such thing as fever without a cause, there is always a cause. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your Dad. Keep us posted. Good luck.
    Donna70

    Hi Peachey
    I agree with all
    Hi Peachey
    I agree with all of the others. Get him back to MD Anderson in Houston. Always go with your "gut" feeling! There is always a cause for a fever. Some kind of an infection. It is our bodies way of telling us that something is wrong. Prayers will be being said. Keep us updated. Hugs to you and dad.
    Tina

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