Croup: Croup is another common airway inflammation caused by virus that can affect the trachea, larynx and possibility the bronchi (Murray, Sidani, & Zoorob, 2011) thus causing infection in the upper respiratory tract. Murray et al. describes it as the most common illness in children under the age of 6 to 36 months and cause for cough mostly when a child cries; acute stridor and hoarseness in febrile children (Murray et al., 2011). It can be a life-threatening situation in the life of the young infant and the family. Croup symptoms exhibit as hoarseness, barking cough, inspiratory stridor, and respiratory distress. I chose this diagnosis as my first preference because when I read the mother’s subjective report it matches that of croup symptoms: a barking cough, no fever, severe at night and when the baby cries, fatigue due to excessiveness of the tears, pain due to inflames and swollen of the airway. Murray et al., led us to understand that the etiologies of this viral causing agent can be traced to the parainfluenza viruses, type 1. (2011). This virus is commonly spread through contact or droplet secretion. Pertussis: Pertussis also known as whopping cough is a highly contagious bacterial disease that causes an uncontrollable, severe coughing. It is a serious disease that can affect individual of all ages with severe complication resulting in permanent disability in infants and lastly death. The fact that this 7-months old baby stay up night, inability to sleep can make it hard to breathe. Burns, Cotter, Harvill, Hewlett, Merkel, Stibitz & Quinn explained that pertussis is an upper respiratory infection caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria in addition to the systemic manifestations such as “lympocytosis, dysregulated secr... ... middle of paper ... ... immune system. The body’s immune system is beneficial to rid of illness and foreign invader our body note to be a threat such as parasite, virus, or bacteria but sometimes it can also reacts to a harmless substance. As a result to protect out immune system, the body manufacture a protective protein barrier called antibodies. This protective agent exhibit swelling and inflammation of tissues whenever an allergic reaction occurs as a response to eliminate the threat (Burks, Harthoorn,Van Ampting, Oude Nijhuis, Langford, Wopereis, & Harvey, 2015). In addition, the anatomical systems of babies are still developing in the sense that, they have small, sensitive airways in their lungs. In a situation of allergy contact, the airways become swollen as a result to rid virus and bacteria; and in response, babies start to cough, sneeze and can progress to wheezing and asthma.
The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body, and it defends the body from “foreign invaders.” Immunity can be divided in two three different defenses, and these are defined as first, second and third lines of defense. The first line of defense for the immune system is the primary defense against pathogens entering the body from the surface in order to prevent the start of disease and infection. Some examples of the first line of defense is the skin, protecting the external boundaries of the body, and the mucous membranes, protecting the internal boundaries of the body. Although the skin and mucous membranes work on the internal and external boundaries, they both release chemicals
Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is a very common hospital acquired infection, especially in pediatric intensive care units, ranking as the second most common (Foglia, Meier, & Elward, 2007). It is defined as pneumonia that develops 48 hours or more after mechanical ventilation begins. A VAP is diagnosed when new or increase infiltrate shows on chest radiograph and two or more of the following, a fever of >38.3C, leukocytosis of >12x10 9 /mL, and purulent tracheobronchial secretions (Koenig & Truwit, 2006). VAP occurs when the lower respiratory tract that is sterile is introduced microorganisms are introduced to the lower respiratory tract and parenchyma of the lung by aspiration of secretions, migration of aerodigestive tract, or by contaminated equipment or medications (Amanullah & Posner, 2013). VAP occurs in approximately 22.7% of patients who are receiving mechanical ventilation in PICUs (Tablan, Anderson, Besser, Bridges, & Hajjeh, 2004). The outcomes of VAP are not beneficial for the patient or healthcare organization. VAP adds to increase healthcare cost per episode of between $30,000 and $40,000 (Foglia et al., 2007) (Craven & Hjalmarson, 2010). This infection is also associated with increase length of stay, morbidity and high crude mortality rates of 20-50% (Foglia et al., 2007)(Craven & Hjalmarson, 2010). Currently, the PICU has implemented all of the parts of the VARI bundle except the daily discussion of readiness to extubate. The VARI bundle currently includes, head of the bed greater then or equal to 30 degrees, use oral antiseptic (chlorhexidine) each morning, mouth care every 2 hours, etc. In the PICU at children’s, the rates for VAP have decreased since the implementation of safety ro...
My Presumptive diagnosis given this information is RSV bronchiolitis. The rationale behind this is that it is a common pediatric illness that causes difficulty breathing and a cough. Other clues to this diagnosis include the onset of the disease which was gradually worsening and a low grade fever. Additionally, on physical exam the presence of dull tympanic membranes suggests there is possible otitis media, which is common in children who have bronchiolitis. Due to the nature of the onset and presenting
Jack, a 10 month old boy who was diagnosed of croup syndrome (Acute Laryngotracheobronchitis ) by the medical officer in emergency, was admitted to the pediatric ward. He was brought to the hospital due to his abnormal breathing and poor feeding. According to his parents, Jack has a 48 hour history of poor feeding, a clear runny nose, barking cough, high temperature, worsening cough, was grumpy and breathless during feeding. During assessment, his vital signs were beyond the normal range, moderate intercostal and sub-sternal recession were evident and only one wet nappy was noted for the day. Apparently, he is experiencing breathing difficulties and dehydration. In this essay, I will discuss about the relationship between the two priority
Liam is a previously healthy boy who has experienced rhinorrhoea, intermittent cough, and poor feeding for the past four days. His positive result of nasopharyngeal aspirate for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) indicates that Liam has acute bronchiolitis which is a viral infection (Glasper & Richardson, 2010). “Bronchiolitis is the commonest reason for admission to hospital in the first 6 months of life. It describes a clinical syndrome of cough tachypnoea, feeding difficulties and inspiratory crackles on chest auscultation” (Fitzgerald, 2011, p.160). Bronchiolitis can cause respiratory distress and desaturation (91% in the room air) to Liam due to airway blockage; therefore the infant appears to have nasal flaring, intercostal and subcostal retractions, and tachypnoea (54 breathes/min) during breathing (Glasper & Richardson, 2010). Tachycardia (152 beats/min) could occur due to hypoxemia and compensatory mechanism for low blood pressure (74/46mmHg) (Fitzgerald, 2011; Glasper & Richardson, 2010). Moreover, Liam has fever and conjunctiva injection which could be a result of infection, as evidenced by high temperature (38.6°C) and bilateral tympanic membra...
Friedman JF, Lee GM, Kleinman KP, Finkelstein JA. "Acute Care and Antibiotic Seeking for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections for Children in Day Care: Parental Knowledge and Day Care Center Policies." JAMA Pediatrics 157.4 (2003): 369-374. .
Pertussis, the ‘P’ in DTaP, can potentially be fatal to infants. It is caused by Bordetella pertussis bacterium. Pertussis is spread from droplets in the air. When you breathe in the droplets, the bacteria starts to incubate. You may begin to have a cough, runny nose, and some sneezing. As time goes on, the cough gets worse and worse. Hence
Whooping cough is a highly infectious respiratory disease that can affect people of all ages. While this disease is not usually deadly, it can be life- threatening to babies less than 12- months old. This disease is also sometimes called the “100 Day cough” because this infection can last up to 10 weeks or more. (CDC).
sneezing, coughing, etc. Rubella is a viral disease that causes a rash which can spread all over the
It is especially important for babies, infants, and pregnant women to take vaccinations against whooping cough because symptoms are most harmful for babies. In fact, babies who are younger than one year old usually need hospital treatment. There are also many other complications babies with pertussis can face; they can develop pneumonia, experience convulsions, develop apnea or encephalopathy, and some may even die.
Major symptoms of bronchiolitis include coughing, wheezing and poor nutrition. Approximately 20 percent of children develop bronchiolitis during their first year of life. Among them two to three percent of children require hospitalization during their first year of life. Respiratory syncytial virus is the most common cause of bronchiolitis, especially epidemics in winter season. In most studies it accounts for 60 to 80 percent of the bronchiolitis cases in children below 12 months of age. It is important to prevent nosocomial spread of RSV from children with bronchiolitis. RSV can survive up to seven hours on surface and can transmit directly or indirectly by touch. Hand decontamination with antimicrobial soap or alcohol based hand rubs are important before and after patient contact, and after contact with possible decontaminated objects (Oymar et al., 2014). Other prevention measures include, wash your hand at least 20 seconds, keep your hands off your face, avoid close contact with infected people, cover your cough and sneeze, clean and disinfect surfaces, and stay home when you are sick. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Pertussis is an important communicable disease in which we must be aware of, it is exceedingly contagious. The main sign that one portrays when this disease is present is uncontained aggressive coughing, which can lead to difficulty in breathing to some individuals. Whooping cough is also another name for pertussis mainly because a whooping sound is heard when the patient tries to breath. Pertussis, is an upper respiratory infection caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria. Common cold like symptoms occur about a week after exposure to the bacteria. The whoop noise is rare in patients under 6 months of age.
Knowing the background information of viral pneumonia is vital in treating the disease in premature babies. Two scientists, Hippocrates and Maimonides, discovered pneumonia between 450 B.C. and 380 B.C as well as in the early nineteenth century. Hippocrates discovered pneumonia, but knew very little about it. On the other hand, Maimonides knew more about pneumonia and described it more thoroughly than Hippocrates. He described pneumonia as a disease causing acute fever, sticking pain in the side, short rapid breaths, and jagged pulse and cough (Meeks and Heit 492). “Viral pneumonia occurs more in young children than older adults because the bodies of young children have a harder time fighting off the virus and it is often caused by one of the several viruses: adenovirus, influenza, parainfluenza, and respiratory syncytial virus” (“Viral Pneumonia”). Viral pneumonia develops in children in about five to seven days, but bacterial pneumonia is more severe (McKenzie and et. al. 396). “Pneumonia affects approximately four million individuals each year. It is the most common cause of infectious death in the United States” (Neighbors and Jones 162). Viral pneumonia occ...
The case study subject is P.L., a twenty- three year-old teacher that is being seen in a clinic for upper respiratory symptoms she has had for two weeks. The patients presents with mild fever, thick but clear mucous from her nose, malaise and swollen cervical lymph nodes. The patient reports her cough continues to increase, consistently becoming more forceful. P.L. reports she works in a school that has fifty-four students diagnosed with pertussis, five of those students are in her class.
Patients who usually have allergies suffer from many symptoms due to the allergic reaction(s). Normally, your immune system protects you against invading agents such as bacteria and viruses. Otherwise harmless allergens (allergy-producing substances) cause your body to react as if they were dangerous invaders. In effect, your immune system is responding to a false alarm.