Experience with Bone Marrow Transplant patients.....

James McGhee

Forum Ride Along
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I'm a nationally certified EMT and I have an opportunity to work with a bone marrow transplant patient. I wanted to know if anyone here has had any experience with those types of patients? I would love to hear your input, just to get some perspective of what I may be taking on.
 

E tank

Caution: Paralyzing Agent
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I'm a nationally certified EMT and I have an opportunity to work with a bone marrow transplant patient. I wanted to know if anyone here has had any experience with those types of patients? I would love to hear your input, just to get some perspective of what I may be taking on.

Depends on where he is in his treatment or if it is uncomplicated. But immunocompromise would come to mind first. Go to a nursing or medical forum, look for the oncology section and ask your question there. And be more specific.
 

Peak

ED/Prehospital Registered Nurse
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Do you have a specific question?

Presentation after bone marrow transplant will depend on what kind and why they had a transplant. Of course patients who have a BMT for something like Diamond-Blankfan or Shwachman-Diamond will typically have a much more complex presentation than a patient with ALL, largely due to the much greater complexity of genetic disease syndromes. Autologus and allogenic also have very presentations after transplant since autos typically have far few complications (such as graft vs host disease) and are not immunocompromised.

Most BMT patients require little ongoing care outside of clinic visits, but there are certainly those who don't fare as well. Typically BMT patients will have failed more traditional therapy for their disease process for quite some time and often have the sequelae of long term steroid or chemotherapy regimens in addition to the current disease process of their post BMT management.
 

Summit

Critical Crazy
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I don't have much experience with them.

Inpatient BMT unit can be some the sickest patients you can come across. The level of hygiene infection prevention measures involved on a BMT unit is most impressive.

Outpatient the problem is that being a little unwell can portend grave outcomes if not addressed and they are often treated with a much closer eye for seemingly minor presentations to head things off early (e.g. "I have a cold" can mean "observation admit").

When they do well it's pretty amazing to think about...
 
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