Taking Limcee For TB. What Could Be The Reason For Blood In Sputum?

Posted on Wed, 27 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 27 Nov 2013 Answered on

Wed, 18 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Good Evening Sir, I have a son 10 years old. Since start of this year he sometimes spits reddish sputum.Doctor advised taking Tablet Limcee for one month. But No progress was achieved. Then a series of tests were conducted of his sputum and in one of culture tests (AFB (MYCOBATERIUM RAPID) final report shows_Mycrobacterium tuberclosis complex grown.It has been since July 2013 now and doctor advised anti tuberclosis treatment which is still on. But we see no end to the reddish sputum which though now he spits after longer durations compared to earlier period.We feel our son has grown weaker and also this thing has crept into his sub concious as he taking Medicine since so long and there seems no end to the ordeal.Kindly advise XXXXXXX XXXXXXX Cell 0000 email YYYY@YYYY

Answered by Dr. T Shobha Deepak (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: reddish secretion could be due to Rifampicin drug Detailed Answer: Namaste Welcome to Healthcare-Magic Greetings of the day Dear XXXX, I do understand the agony you are Going through regarding health status of your child. In case of your child it's a confirmed case of Pulmonary Sputum positive Tuberculosis. Ideally he will require minimum of 6 months of anti-tubercular treatment. Effectiveness and response to treatment is assessed by 1. Sputum becoming negative after 2 months of initiation of treatment. 2 feeling of generalized well being 3. Gain in weight- There will be improvement in appetite after the side effects of drugs are tolerated. Giving Well balanced nutritious diet along with Vitamin supplements is important Coming to symptom of persistent reddish secretion it could basically be due to one of the following 1. Side effect of drug- Rifampicin used in the treatment is known to cause reddish discoloration of secretion 2. Persistent hemoptysis- presence of blood in sputum At this point I would advise you following 1. Get sputum examination done to know it's blood and also sputum for Mycobacterium is treated Depending on it further management can be decided Maintaining good nutrition is also equally important. Also motivation by parents and care takers is equally important as the treatment is long term. Also remember the tuberculosis treatment is100% if good patient compliance is maintained. It's one of the common infectious disease in India and the things can be taken care. I hope I have answered your query. Do get back to me if you have any other query. Wishing your son a speedy recovery Take care Regards Dr T Shobha MBBS MD

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj