[rd2012]

Blood in Spit

by rd2012 on Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:30 am

Hello,

Someone in my family was diagnosed with Myeloma in June this year. He is 78 years old.
Only First round of Chemo with steroids has been given so far. He also has Cardiac problems with blockages in all 3 arteries, so aggressive treatment can not be given for Myeloma.

Recently he has been noticing blood/red discharge in his cough/spit. It is a side effect of the medicines?

[Dr. Ken Shain]

Re: Blood in Spit

by Dr. Ken Shain on Fri Jun 29, 2012 12:46 pm

First, and above all, call you doctor.

I would guess that your family member is on anticoagulation for his/her cardiac disease. Sometimes myeloma therapy can cause the platelets to drop (platelets are cells involved in clotting). If the platelets are low and one is on anti-platelet agents to protect the cardiac arteries, abnormal bleeding can occur.

I would double check with the hem/onc physician and make sure that laboratory values are ok and your meds are in order. Also check PT/INR/PTT.

Infections can also lead to this.

But please contact you treating physician.

[rd2012]

Re: Blood in Spit

by rd2012 on Mon Jul 09, 2012 3:06 pm

Thanks a lot Dr. Ken for the reply.. yes he did have lung infection and was admitted in the hospital and given Lasik to clear the congestion. After the congestion was cleared he was given Chemo again.
HIs blood test is being done on a weekly basis and HB is now 11, but SGPT is 120. Is that a cause of concern?

What is PT/INR?

[Dr. Ken Shain]

Re: Blood in Spit

by Dr. Ken Shain on Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:01 pm

PT = prothrombin time and INR- internationalist normalized ratio.

These are just tests to determine the ability of blood to clot. Sometimes in myeloma with very high levels of paraprotein the antibodies can affect the mechanisms by which your blood clots.