Emergency room visit after infusion room mistake.

[Clarinet bob]

I was in for my sixth infusion of round one chemo yesterday. I had maybe thirty or forty minutes to finish up. I had two drips going. One Emend and I'm not sure what th other bag was. It had about a third of left over. Anyway. The smaller bag ran empty and nooner had noticed. There were two of us in chairs and three techs hanging out at their workstation. Finally one of them came and woo this one's dry. I see an air bubble I need to clear. Anyway, I started having severe chest pains and it radiating into my jaw. I have coronary artery disease and I've had a heart attack. So they stopped the drips and sent me to the ER. I spent the next six and a ha

F hours waiting to get Ana EkG and two blood tests. I had to cancel my radiation treatment, which was to be a lengthy re-gridding. My sister is a Mir's and was very concerned that the Emend was not mixed with something at that point and could hav not only been lethal, but could cause permanent kidney and heart damage. I try to family members advice with a grain of salt because they too are emotionally involved.Ny ideas?

[Tom Galli]

Bob,

 

I am sorry you experienced this treatment setback. It is not unusual.  I've known many who've gone from infusion to the ER for various problems including a heart attack.  Infusing any chemotherapy along with drugs given to ward off side-effects always comes at a risk.

 

I've had many infusions and saw the extensive precautions that nurses and pharmacists used to ensure the right chemicals were mixed in the right proportions and given to the right patient.  That may not satisfy your sister and of course there is always the possibility of a mistake.  Cancelling a radiation treatment for me just meant I had an extra one added on extending my radiation by a day.  I had to cancel one because I was too ill and rescheduling was no problem.

 

Be sure and consult your doctor about your concerns with your kidney and heart.  Before every infusion, I had a blood draw and they checked certain elements of the blood to ensure kidneys, liver and heart were not affected by treatment.  But, you should ask just to be sure.

 

I hope you have recovered from your ER experience.  Let us know how you are doing.

 

Stay the course.

 

Tom

[Clarinet bob]

Thanks for asking Tom. It, unfortunately was a mistake. No harm no foul.I'm sure it was thourghly discussed.I developed a case of thrush. I had severe hick ups and could no burp for a couple of days. Very annoying. My Oncologist set me up with medicines to relieve everything.This week has been great! Ready to go again. I seem to be tolerating everything pretty well so far.