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Have Pneumonia And Strep Throat. Diagnose With Endocarditis Of Mitral Valve After Taking Antibiotic. Treatment?
Question: In October I was diagnosed with pneumonia and strep throat (I had battled what I thought a cough or sinus infection for four wks before seeing a dr). After two rounds of antibiotics I didn't improve and they did blood culture which then I was diagnosed with endocarditis of the mital valve ( I have mitral valve prolapse disease which they say is probably why the bacteria has attacked that area). I have been on meds for this since mid November with bloodwork still showing infection / abnormal levels. I will think I am improving for a few days and then I start feeling more fatigue and I experience a lot of nausea, diahrrea, and some vomiting. My doctor has been conferring with an infectious disease dr since mid January, at which time upon his opinion, changed my antibiotics. I guess my question is how long does it take to get over this - they tell me it is difficult to treat since two areas of treatment - first killing the bacteria and then managing the affected mital valve. I would like your opinion please.
Hi. Thank you for writing to us.
Depending on the type of pneumonia, the duration of treatment is fixed. Also, pneumonia is sometimes very difficult to treat, and thus doctor's end up going from mild to moderate intensity antibiotics, and sometimes even from moderate to higher intensity antibiotics.
Different types of pneumonia with their treatment duration:
-Community acquired 7-10 days
-Nosocomial: 3-6 weeks
-Staphylococcal: 3-4 weeks
-Legionella, mycoplasma, chlamydia: 14-21 days
-Pneumonia+complications: 4-6 weeks
There have also been cases, which have been ongoing treatment for 3-6 months, due to the resistant nature of the infection and complications. The prime focus of your doctors would be to battle the infection first.
symptoms. Your complaints of nausea, fatigue, vomiting, etc. could be because of the MVP, but might not require immediate management. But, as your doctors feel MVP is the reason for your pneumonia, we will have to treat it with medication or even surgery to avoid a recurrence of the infection.
Now that I have provided this information to you, in my opinion your infection does seem quite resistant, but once a high grade of antibiotics are used, it shouldn't take more than 2-3 weeks to see improvements in blood work and your general condition. Your MVP will then be easier to treat.
I hope I have succeeded in providing you with the information you were looking for, along with some extra information. Feel free to write back to me any time if you have more queries.
Wishing you a speedy recovery and a healthy life thereafter.
Depending on the type of pneumonia, the duration of treatment is fixed. Also, pneumonia is sometimes very difficult to treat, and thus doctor's end up going from mild to moderate intensity antibiotics, and sometimes even from moderate to higher intensity antibiotics.
Different types of pneumonia with their treatment duration:
-Community acquired 7-10 days
-Nosocomial: 3-6 weeks
-Staphylococcal: 3-4 weeks
-Legionella, mycoplasma, chlamydia: 14-21 days
-Pneumonia+complications: 4-6 weeks
There have also been cases, which have been ongoing treatment for 3-6 months, due to the resistant nature of the infection and complications. The prime focus of your doctors would be to battle the infection first.
symptoms. Your complaints of nausea, fatigue, vomiting, etc. could be because of the MVP, but might not require immediate management. But, as your doctors feel MVP is the reason for your pneumonia, we will have to treat it with medication or even surgery to avoid a recurrence of the infection.
Now that I have provided this information to you, in my opinion your infection does seem quite resistant, but once a high grade of antibiotics are used, it shouldn't take more than 2-3 weeks to see improvements in blood work and your general condition. Your MVP will then be easier to treat.
I hope I have succeeded in providing you with the information you were looking for, along with some extra information. Feel free to write back to me any time if you have more queries.
Wishing you a speedy recovery and a healthy life thereafter.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Shanthi.E
My main concern was the duration of the endocarditis of the mitral valve which was triggered by the strep bacterium. Is it unusal for the treatment and recovery time to range from 3-6 months especailly with complications (two places of vegetation on the valve).
Hi.
Thank you for your follow up query.
The infective endocarditis treatment can range from a minimum of 2 weeks to 6 months depending on the type of antibiotic used and the response seen.
No ma'am, treatment and recovery time ranging 3-6 months and on rare occasions even longer is seen and is not unusual or uncommon, especially with complications.
I hope this provides you with the information you were looking for. Feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications.
Best wishes.
Thank you for your follow up query.
The infective endocarditis treatment can range from a minimum of 2 weeks to 6 months depending on the type of antibiotic used and the response seen.
No ma'am, treatment and recovery time ranging 3-6 months and on rare occasions even longer is seen and is not unusual or uncommon, especially with complications.
I hope this provides you with the information you were looking for. Feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications.
Best wishes.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Shanthi.E
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