OT- Mom's kidney infection

[Guest guest]

Sorry to post off-topic, but I can't think of a group of people who

(unfortunately) have so much collective experience with infections.

My 86 year old mother has suffered from recurrent kidney infections

since June. She is on coumadina and had a stroke a year ago, but her

impairments are primarily physical. She apparently has a congenital

narrowing of the kidney's pelvis, where the ureter drains the kidney.

There has been debate about operating but we ultimately decided that

the surgical risk was too high. So she has been on rotating stents and

maintenance antibiotics (sound familiar?). She started vomiting this

weekend, was admitted and given Cipro and Vancomycin, and the stents

were changed yesterday. The doctor found material in the kidney he

thought was fungal. The stent-changing seems to have allowed the

infection to become systemic. Her BP was as low as 90/40 today, so she

is now in the ICU and is on lots of IV fluids, fluconazole and

mereprenem(?). Is this sepsis? My sister is with her, but I'm

wondering if I should fly out too.

Martha (MA)