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Had Gastrointestinal Bleeding. Diagnosed With Polycythemia PV. Unable To Walk, Shortness Of Breath, Chest And Back Pain. Advise?

Posted on Wed, 11 Sep 2013

Question: My mother had a massive GI bleed 10 days ago. (9.5 pints) according to the doctors. She also has newly diagnosed polycytemia PV? ANyhow, she recieved blood, liters of d51/2 ns, and was released 5 days after the incident with a hgb of 8.4. Saturday Morning (this past saturday), she became very short of breath, could not walk, chest pain, back pain and left shoulder Pain. SHe went to ER and was diagnosed after a chest xray with pneumonia...with white cell count of 26,000, hgb of 8.7, albumin2.0. Placed on Vancomycin, Cipro iv. Today, still has significant back and chest pain particularly when trying to cough. She takes nebulizer treatments, her white count is down to 16, 000 but I feel there is something missing. What do I need to ask or know as her daughter and speaking for her. She is 85 and defers to me.

Answered by Dr. Shashi Dangwal (43 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
It`s pleuritic chest pain, will subside soon.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thanks for posting your query on XXXXXXX

The chest pain that your mother is having is because of pleurisy. Pleurisy is inflammation of covering of lungs and is generally seen in pneumonia. Pleurisy can be very painful.

She should be continued on antibiotics and nebulisation. For symptomatic relief of pain she can be given some pain killer. The pain will subside as pneumonia heals with treatment.

You may ask the treating physician if there are indications of resolving of pneumonia clinically, laboratory wise and on xray chest. If healing is getting delayed, treating physician may ask for more tests.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar