All is Well

Today is just another day hanging out.  Lauren has been quite sleepy because of the benadryl she has been taking to help her with a reaction to the antibiotic.  She showed this reaction previously a couple of months ago, and they infused the antibiotic over a longer period and it worked, but now it has creeped it's way back into our lives.  Lauren's largest indicator is a rash from a direct line that wraps around her chest and back up to the top of head.  It's strange cause the bottom part is literally a straight line.  I'll try to take a pic later and post it.

Here's more info on Red Man's Syndrome (The reaction to the antibiotic) via the internet:

Red Man Syndrome (RMS) is a commonly observed adverse drug event associated with vancomycin therapy.   It is characterized by a sudden and/or profound drop in blood pressure, a maculopapular rash, angioedema, pruritus, erythema, wheezing, or dyspnea .   Any or all of these effects may be seen.   While rare, changes in blood pressure have been severe enough to produce cardiovascular collapse. The reaction may occur within a few minutes of starting an IV infusion of vancomycin or occur near its completion; the skin rash typically subsides several hours after completion of the infusion.   RMS can cause discomfort to the patient, interrupt therapy, and inappropriately label a patient as being allergic to vancomycin.

RMS is most frequently seen with rapid intravenous infusions, but it has been reported with slow intravenous infusions, intraperitoneal administration, and oral vancomycin use.   While the precise causes of the cardiovascular and cutaneous reactions to vancomycin are unknown, histamine is believed to mediate the syndrome.   Various studies have demonstrated that the amount of histamine released correlates to the overall severity of the reaction.

Investigators have conducted studies to compare the effect of different size IV doses (500 mg versus 1000 mg), the use of antihistamine pretreatment, and the impact of extending drug infusion times.   Recommendations to minimize this adverse effect have included:   limiting vancomycin doses to 500 mg, pretreating all patients with antihistamines, and administering all vancomycin infusions over 2 hours.   However, these recommendations may not be practical for all patients. 

Lauren had some more blood and CSF drawn for labs.  She also had a cardio-echogram to see if when the catheter was too far in the ventricle in heart last month, if it happened to have caused some scar tissue or debris...where bacteria could easily accumulate onto.   ID team and neuro just really want to make sure Lauren's body is perfect before re-internalizing shunt. 

PS Obviously, you noticed the new look.  I felt like adding a touch of sunshine to our lives;)