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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Monday, February 8, 2010
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Monday, February 8, 2010
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Lung Center |
Abscess in lung10/18/2006 |
In June my boyfriend was diagnosed with having an abscess in his right lung. He spent about a week at University Hospital in Cincinnati and had x-rays, treatment, etc and was given a prescription to take upon his release. The prescription was written on June 6 and he filled it that day. He was given 56 tablets and instructed to take one pill two times per day. When those ran out, he was to refill the prescription.However, he never got the second prescription filled. He doesn`t have health insurance and it was $218 to get the antibiotics at CVS pharmacy, so he only did it once. It is now mid-October and he is coughing a lot and his right lung has started to hurt. He is worried that the abcess is back. Since he never filled the second prescription, he wants to fill it soon and start taking it while he waits to get an appointment at the free clinic. My question is - should he start taking the antibiotics again or should he wait until he can be seen at a free clinic (last time the waiting period was 7 weeks) and be reassessed before he does anything?
An abscess is a localized infection within the lung tissue. Because it is a concentrated infection and antibiotics can't easily penetrate into the abscess, a prolonged course of antibiotics is required to treat and eliminate the infection. By only taking half the course of antibiotics, the infection was most likely not completely treated and, giving his symptoms of cough and chest discomfort, it is very possible that the infection is worse.
He needs to be seen sooner and have a chest x-ray to determine if the abscess is still present or has gotten worse. The infection could spread to other parts of the lung and be even more difficult to treat. Based upon the chest x-ray and sputum cultures, appropriate antibiotics can be started. If the infection is extensive, he may require re-admission to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics.
If it is not possible to be seen quickly in the clinic, you might consider evaluation in the emergency department. He definitely requires medical evaluation and treatment.
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Ralph Panos, MD Associate Professor Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine Department of Internal Medicine College of Medicine University of Cincinnati |
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