Pneumonia

[jld85]

About a week ago, dad started running a fever. They did some cultures and a sputum test. It came back that he had pneumonia and a UTI. So they started him on some antibiotics. He didn’t have much of a fever the last couple of days but then today he had another fever. It got as high as 101.8. His oxygen was running pretty high on minimal amount of liters of oxygen. Well today, he had to be bumped up a bit and he’s running high 80s, low 90s for his saturation. The nurse said the fever can cause that but I also know pneumonia can as well. They did another chest x-ray today, there were no changes since the last one, so it hasn’t gotten worse. My question is, did anyone experience anything similar and is it possible for his oxygen to be a little lower and require a little more oxygen during this time?

[LeopardGecko]

While my husband was in hospital he picked up a variety of infections which caused fevers and fluctuations in SATs. Throughout his hospital stay, his oxygen requirements fluctuated (although I don't know the figures for the 3 months that he was ventilated).

I do know more of the figures from when he caught covid. They had a SATs figure that they were aiming for (initially 88-90) and they would provide the level of oxygen needed to get him to those levels. I'm not sure if this answers your question.

[jld85 in reply to LeopardGecko]

It does. Well atleast let’s me know it’s a “normal”thing with infections. They had to put him on the high flow machine last night while they figured out what was going on.

[moemelling]

Did they mention any scarring on the lungs? Covid, and the Pneumonia, my lungs have been scarred. I am 10 weeks home from ICU and no amount of deep breathing satiates me. The water infection will totally be the cause of his fever spike. However the drop in O2 sats could be due to lung damage.

[jld85 in reply to moemelling]

Well, he does have scarring. However, his sats only drop when he has this fever and infection.

[moemelling in reply to jld85]

I’m just wondering if the fever may not be the primary cause of his drop in sats? It takes me more than double the effort to maintain breathing! Last night I needed to get out of bed & venture downstairs. The extra breathing required got me so hot & bothered that I needed fans to cool me down. It’s just something for you to consider?

[jld85 in reply to moemelling]

Mom did say last night that every time the fever comes up, his oxygen is staying in the 80s. So they had to put him on the high flow machine last night, until they figured this out. He’s already on 2 other antibiotics due to the uti and pneumonia as well.

[jld85 in reply to moemelling]

Also, the lung doctor came in his room last night to see him. He was breathing a little fast and the doctor said it could be anxiety/nerves, or the fever. But also said certain meds can cause a fever too, since he’s just been laying in bed.

[moemelling]

Did they mention any scarring on the lungs? Covid, and the Pneumonia, my lungs have been scarred. I am 10 weeks home from ICU and no amount of deep breathing satiates me. The water infection will totally be the cause of his fever spike. However the drop in O2 sats could be due to lung damage.

[FamilyHistorian]

Your dad has been going through it a bit. I had double pneumonia as well as lots of other infections and my body was quite often on fire. I had drains which helped with the fluid. Yes my lungs are damaged and won’t repair but they say after 15 months they will try to ensure they don’t get any worse!

Don’t worry too much about numbers as they vary person to person

[jld85 in reply to FamilyHistorian]

Ok! His sats have only dropped because of the fever and infection. His oxygen sat was pretty good on minimal oxygen until all this hit.