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Cellulitis while on ipi
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Cellulitis while on ipi

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Cellulitis while on ipi

  • This topic has 10 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by Dhva.
  • Post
    • April 1, 2017 at 1:30 am
    Dhva
    Participant

      Has anyone experienced the development of cellulitis as a side effect to ipilimumab?

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    • Replies
        • April 1, 2017 at 1:42 am
        jennunicorn
        Participant

          Cellulitis is a bacterial skin infection that can occur after a surgery or from a cut if there is an open wound for the bacteria to enter. Is not caused by a drug. Ipi can cause skin rashes as a side effect, which are different from cellulitis.

            • April 1, 2017 at 2:48 am
            Dhva
            Participant

              No surgery,no open wound or cut of any kind. Sudden onset of cellulitis in leg and uveitis in eyes. 

              • April 1, 2017 at 3:29 am
              jennunicorn
              Participant

                Interesting, not sure how the cellulitis would happen. Uveitis is definitely from the Ipi. Hope you feel better soon.

                • April 1, 2017 at 4:10 am
                Dhva
                Participant

                  Thanks…weird!

                  • April 3, 2017 at 1:34 pm
                  Aaron
                  Participant

                    I have contracted cellulitis twice in the past month.  No cuts or trauma to the area.  I am on Nivo but am done with ipi.  Doc says I am more prone to cellulitis to to the lymph fluid that builds under my skin through out the day.  I do not have significant lymphedema so I do not use the compression stockings.  

                  • April 3, 2017 at 2:42 pm
                  Bradley75
                  Participant

                    I have had cellulitis twice.  Once while on the ipi/nivo combo and once just out of the blue.  I had no cuts or obvious sores that show how I contracted the infection.  I do have lymphadema and I know the lack of lymph nodes under my right arm and I know that causes a little infection to turn into something that can kill me rather quickly.  In my experience, I had increased swelling when I started to combo.  They also put me on 150mg of Prednisone 4 days after my 1st dose.  Both of those things increased swelling in the right axilla area.  The Prednisone lowered my immune system strength as well.  Within a week, I was back in the hospital with cellulitis.  It comes on really fast and both times I had little to no warning.

                    If you continue to have cellulitis issues, talk with you onc about having strong antibiotics in your at home medicine cabinet.  I noticed signs of it coming on again a couple of weeks ago and was able to stop it before it took off with Cephalexin that I had just in case.  You learn pretty quick what to look for when you can see the infection coming.  Once you see redness spreading towards any fluid build up spots you might have where you had lymph nodes removed, buckle your seatbelt.  The cellulitis can turn to cepsis in a matter of hours when that happens. 

                    -Brad

                      • April 6, 2017 at 1:59 pm
                      Dhva
                      Participant

                        The odd thing is that the primary was in the right fore arm and the clnd was in right armpit, but the cellulitis developed in the right lower leg. It is now the 6 the day in antibiotics, but it is still swelling ,discolored and sore by the end of the day. I'm guessing it just takes time to heal. Next ipi treatment is next week.

                        • April 6, 2017 at 4:40 pm
                        jennunicorn
                        Participant

                          They did make sure it is not a DVT (deep vein thrombosis), right? If not, please make sure they check.

                          This is from an article on the web:

                          "Severe venous congestion produces a clinical appearance that can be indistinguishable from the appearance of cellulitis. Patients with a warm, swollen, tender leg should be evaluated for both cellulitis and DVT because patients with primary DVT often develop a secondary cellulitis, while patients with primary cellulitis often develop a secondary DVT."

                           

                          • April 14, 2017 at 9:38 pm
                          debwray
                          Participant

                            Agreed.    Esp as both legs and left arm drain through same lymphatic route whilst right arm drains via other route….cellulitis can mask deep infections ( Painful personal experiences ) – PS crp blood levels up tp 190 could be arthritic inflammation over that- look for infection etc etc…

                            Take care

                            Deb

                            • April 15, 2017 at 8:46 pm
                            Dhva
                            Participant

                              Completed antibiotics 5 days ago and had the fourth ipi treatment 3 days ago. Still experiencing swelling ,discoloration and there are a couple of lumps on the front and rear of the calf. Not sure what is going on, but the dr seems unconcerned.

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