Sputum Culture Result Not Given Over Phone---Bad News Coming???

[sasha414 0]

what day did st lukes tell you to call for the culture results?

[MabuhayJimmy 3]

I went through sputum test too,i called them 2 days before the date they gave me to call them..They told me that i can report to the clinic from mon-fri and i asked them the result and they said they are not allowed to say anything and the result was negative..I hope the result of your fiancee is negative,your in my prayer...

Thank you davra, your post gives me hope. She finds out Monday AM, I'm all in knots right now.

Edited July 26, 2009 by MabuhayJimmy

[MabuhayJimmy 3]

what day did st lukes tell you to call for the culture results?

sasha414, the clinic told her to call on 7/28. She called a few times last week, but no results ready.

Then finally they called her on July 24th, 8 weeks and 1 day after the negative smear result in May.

No results communicated, just come and see the doctor for the results.

We are so on edge right now!

Edited July 26, 2009 by MabuhayJimmy

[MabuhayJimmy 3]

That's for chronic pneumonia. I am very concerned of her acute emotional stress. That in itself lowers resistance to tuberculi bacteria. She should have been given isoniazid and ethambutol 8 weeks straight after that! That's my opinion though (which lacks the diagnostic evidence that I should see). I am only basing this on the fact that 2 of her X-ray results showed consistent scarring.

Tell her... TO DO THIS IMMEDIATELY...

NO COLD drinks, air, NON WHATSOEVER!!!!

NO SMOKING, NO AIR-CONDITIONING that makes her chilled. If she has to go to a place air conditioned she must keep herself warm.

Keep away from people. Crowd causes stress. Stress causes respiratory risks.

SHE MUST SLEEP AT LEAST 10 hours at night.

SHE MUST EAT even if she does not want to.

SHE MUST TAKE B complex vitamins to activate/enhance her nervous system and thereby improving immune centers in her brain.

No carrying heavy weights of any kind.

When she gets to San Diego, bring her to UCI Med. Orange County, see James Williams. He's good.

Thank you doctor, I gave her your instructions last night!

I'm so sad, the result is "positive" for TB.

Edited July 27, 2009 by MabuhayJimmy

[Jauque 1]

I am so sorry for you and for her. Have they recommended a course of treatment and a date in which she can retest?

Again I can't even imagine how disappointing this must be.

Edited July 27, 2009 by Jauque

[MabuhayJimmy 3]

I am so sorry for you and for her. Have they recommended a course of treatment and a date in which she can retest?

Again I can't even imagine how disappointing this must be.

Thanks Jauque.

Every three months there will be x-ray and sputum test until 6 months treatment is done. After 6 months treatment, she will another sputum test, the for another 2 months we will be waiting for the result.

She has an appointment everyday for treatment from 2 pm to 4 pm Monday thru Friday. No take home medicine except Sat and Sunday because clinic is closed those days.

Some Info she sent me:

What is TB?

TB is a serious disease cause by the organism MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS that can cause a person to become very sick if left untreated. TB usually affects the lungs but it sometimes affects other parts of the body such as the meninges of the brain, bones, lymph nodes, pleura of the lungs, gastrointestinal and genitourinary system.

How is TB SPREAD?

TB spread through the air when a person with TB disease coughs, laughs, sings or sneeze. TB can remain suspended in the air by means of droplet nuclei. This droplet nuclei is capable of reaching the deepest part of our airways called the Alvelous. A person sick with TB disease can give out as much as 500 droplet nuclei each time he coughs and these droplet nuclei can reach about 78,000 per day if left untreated. However, once treatment for TB disease is started, droplet nuclei can be lessened by about 28 droplet per day.

TB can sometimesstay alive in the air for several hours specially in a small places with no fresh air. Fresh air and sunlight make it harder for TB germs to stay alive.

You cannot get TB germs from people infected wit TB disease by:

-sharing drinking containers or eating utensils

-sharing food

-saliva shared from kissing

-sexual intercourse

-shaking hands

-sharing toothbrush, towels, or bed lines

-using toilet seats

The ONLY WAY you get the TB germs in your body is by BREATHING them IN.

SPUTUM MTB CULTURE TEST

- This Sputum examination allows the TBorganism to grow in a culture media regarless of wether the sputum AFB smear is positive or negative. This is the GOLD STANDARD to diagnose TB disease. It will take 6 to 8 weeks before the result are released.

DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY TEST

-Psotive MTB cultures allow to performance if this test. This test will provide information if the TB organism is sensitive or resistant to the first-line treatment drugs such as RIFAMPICIN, ISONIAZID, ETHAMBOL and PYRAZINAMIDE. It will also tell us if a person has MULTIPLE Drug-resistant (MDR TB), a kind of TB that is life-threatening and hard to treat.

HOW IS TB TREATED?

TREATMENT FOR TB INFECTION

-Even though the TB germs in yourbody are dormant (sleeping)

they are very strong. Many germs are killed shortly after you start taking your medicine. but some germs stay alive in the body for a long time. As long as you have TB germs in your body, thye can wake up, multiply and make you sick with TB disease. The only way to get rid of TB germs is by taking TB medicines.

One way of treating TB infection is by taking ISONIAZID for 6 to 9 months.

Any medicine, including TB pills, can cause side effects. Inform your doctor right away if you have:

-fever

-rash

-tinging or numbness of your finger or toes

-nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or cramps

-Juandice

-blurring of vision

-changes in your hearing such as ringing in your ears

-diziness

-bruising

-easy bleeding when cut

-tingling or numbness around mouth

-loss of appetite

[Jauque 1]

That's really unfortunate, does it matter that she will have continued exposure? I'm assuming then that her family or roomates are likely carriers as well if its contracted by air.

Best of luck to both of you, I pray for you that the treatment works and is reflected in her next sputum test.

[GregwedsAngel 0]

That's for chronic pneumonia. I am very concerned of her acute emotional stress. That in itself lowers resistance to tuberculi bacteria. She should have been given isoniazid and ethambutol 8 weeks straight after that! That's my opinion though (which lacks the diagnostic evidence that I should see). I am only basing this on the fact that 2 of her X-ray results showed consistent scarring.

Tell her... TO DO THIS IMMEDIATELY...

NO COLD drinks, air, NON WHATSOEVER!!!!

NO SMOKING, NO AIR-CONDITIONING that makes her chilled. If she has to go to a place air conditioned she must keep herself warm.

Keep away from people. Crowd causes stress. Stress causes respiratory risks.

SHE MUST SLEEP AT LEAST 10 hours at night.

SHE MUST EAT even if she does not want to.

SHE MUST TAKE B complex vitamins to activate/enhance her nervous system and thereby improving immune centers in her brain.

No carrying heavy weights of any kind.

When she gets to San Diego, bring her to UCI Med. Orange County, see James Williams. He's good.

Thank you doctor, I gave her your instructions last night!

I'm so sad, the result is "positive" for TB.

So I was right all along. DO WHAT I SAID ABOVE AND FOLLOW THE MEDICATIONS LIKE CLOCKWORK. She will have new lungs in no time.

[leslee 0]

Hi MabuhayJimmy, I am sorry about your fiancee..Just keep the faith all will be fine at the end... I am also praying that i can surpass my culture test negatively which end at September.

[sasha414 0]

what day did st lukes tell you to call for the culture results?

sasha414, the clinic told her to call on 7/28. She called a few times last week, but no results ready.

Then finally they called her on July 24th, 8 weeks and 1 day after the negative smear result in May.

No results communicated, just come and see the doctor for the results.

We are so on edge right now!

if st lukes calls before the due date, its usually bad news. but hey, cheer up, 6 months will fly by fast, trust me, been there, done that. before you know it, she will be preparing for her interview.

[Brian&Naty 0]

My fiancee had negative sputum smears at St Luke's Clinic, May 25 - 27.

TODAY, 8 weeks and 1-day later, she got a call from the St Luke's Clinic. She was told her sputum culture results are ready, and to come to the clinic.

She asked them what the result was.

They replied they are "not allowed to tell, especially over the phone, the doctor will inform you".

There was no further instruction such as bring your letter or your passport.

She cannot get there until Monday.

I think this is a BAD sign. I am very worried.

Does anyone have experience with this, or know if this likely means they want to tell her in person she has tested positive for TB?

Hi,

Naty went through this process also and was told to call back after 8 weeks. When she called they told her to come to St Lukes and bring her original appointment letter, etc. They also did not tell her the result over the phone. This is because she was NEGATIVE. If your honey was positive, they would have called her already to inform her. There were 2 others with Naty that were positive and they were both contacted from St Lukes to tell them that they will need to go into the 6 month treatment program.

SO my guess is that you are all set. She will go back and get Immunizations and then they will give her dates for her interview which is about 1 or 2 weeks. Hope this helps.

Good Luck.

[JANETandLYLE 11]

My fiancee had negative sputum smears at St Luke's Clinic, May 25 - 27.

TODAY, 8 weeks and 1-day later, she got a call from the St Luke's Clinic. She was told her sputum culture results are ready, and to come to the clinic.

She asked them what the result was.

They replied they are "not allowed to tell, especially over the phone, the doctor will inform you".

There was no further instruction such as bring your letter or your passport.

She cannot get there until Monday.

I think this is a BAD sign. I am very worried.

Does anyone have experience with this, or know if this likely means they want to tell her in person she has tested positive for TB?

Hi,

Naty went through this process also and was told to call back after 8 weeks. When she called they told her to come to St Lukes and bring her original appointment letter, etc. They also did not tell her the result over the phone. This is because she was NEGATIVE. If your honey was positive, they would have called her already to inform her. There were 2 others with Naty that were positive and they were both contacted from St Lukes to tell them that they will need to go into the 6 month treatment program.

SO my guess is that you are all set. She will go back and get Immunizations and then they will give her dates for her interview which is about 1 or 2 weeks. Hope this helps.

Good Luck.

Sorry, but i need to ask. My Fiance is to call on the 25th to find out her culture results, and now it is two days before she would call (and now its the weekend there in Phil). Since she has not gotten a call, would you assume her results will be negative, and she will be asked on the 25th when she calls to go to SLEC for her shots? Thanks

Edited August 22, 2009 by JANETandLYLE

[MabuhayJimmy 3]

I haven't posted for a long while for two reasons:

1. I was depressed

2. I have been extraordinarily busy with work

An update: she began treatment late August and is scheduled to complete it at end of January 2010.

I have leased a condo for her downtown so she could be close to St Luke's Clinic rather than commute from Bulacan each day.

She is responding well to treatment, and over the rash/ itching side effects. She is no longer contageous and they have reduced her meds.

I am hoping to go there in December and see what I can do (if anything) to expedite the final testing, and see if the Embassy will grant her an interview in December of January.

Advice with respect to expediting the final testing (another medical AFTER being deemed cured!?), and getting an interview prior to this would be appreciated.

[jpac876 1]

My fiancee had negative sputum smears at St Luke's Clinic, May 25 - 27.

TODAY, 8 weeks and 1-day later, she got a call from the St Luke's Clinic. She was told her sputum culture results are ready, and to come to the clinic.

She asked them what the result was.

They replied they are "not allowed to tell, especially over the phone, the doctor will inform you".

There was no further instruction such as bring your letter or your passport.

She cannot get there until Monday.

I think this is a BAD sign. I am very worried.

Does anyone have experience with this, or know if this likely means they want to tell her in person she has tested positive for TB?

For the most part, medical staff are not allowed to give results over the phone without some kind of written authorization from the patient being tested before the initial exam. There are many laws here in the United States that regulate the release of personal/medical information over the phone or to any un-verifiable (if thats even a word!) individuals. In saying that, I would imagine that the same/similar rules exist in the Philippines as well. I've spent a considerable amount of time there since both my parents are filipino, and from my experience their procedures regarding release of personal information is quite comparable to that of ours. When i was visiting my grandfather at the hospital, they wouldn't update me on his condition (other than that he was stable) until we met with the doctor and my grandfather in person. So i don't think you really have anything to worry about, especially since you stated that her previous sputum test came back negative right? Hope that gives you some peace of mind =) Good luck and God bless

[rebeccajo 14]

I'm moving this thread to the Consular Forum. Seems like valuable information for all, especially those from the Phils.

Best wishes to the OP and his fiancee for a happy resolution.