Background Luna C., a 28-year-old Spanish female, came into the E.R., due to fatigue, and a fever of 102.3°F, a sore throat and abdominal pains. Her symptoms have been ongoing for the past two days. Luna C., is a nurse who has recently traveled to Liberia in West Africa to aid in the healthcare facilities they had available. She came home 5 days before coming into the E.R. without any signs or symptoms of illness. When she initially came to the hospital, she didn’t inform the doctors or nurses that she had traveled out of the country. She was sent home after receiving fluids intravenously. On day 10, she arrived back to the emergency room complaining of fatigue, a fever of 106.7°F, severe headache and abdominal pain along with profuse diarrhea, …show more content…
Her blood pressure was at 100/61 mm Hg, temperature was at 102.5°F, pulse was at 80bpm, and respirations were at 17 breaths per minute. Since she had a sore throat, a throat swab culture was done to rule out any throat infections, along with blood tests which showed signs of infection. The emergency room was very busy that day and Luna was treated with fluid replacement intravenously and was sent home thinking she had the common flu. When she came back on day 10 of being home, her weight was at 127, blood pressure: 98/57, temperature: 106.7°F, pulse at 79bpm, and respirations: 26 breaths per minute. Due to her signs and symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, and also the fact that she had travelled to West Africa where there are outbreaks of deadly diseases, she was quarantined and a blood specimen was taken from her to be tested for Malaria, Yellow Fever, and the Ebola virus. While waiting for the test results, she started vomiting blood and having nose bleeds, along with a rash that started to cover her whole body. The test results for Malaria and Yellow Fever came out negative. A Real-time Reverse-Transcriptase-Polymerase-Chain-Reaction (RT-PCR) assay was performed to detect the viral RNA of Ebola in her blood. Another test the doctors deciding to run to is an antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). While waiting for the results of the tests, Luna’s signs and symptoms …show more content…
The RT-PCR assay works by searching for genetic material from the virus to duplicate it enough so the virus can be efficiently detected (Lewis). In response to the Ebola virus, the body’s immune system starts to produce antibodies that can be detected through urine or saliva using the ELISA assay. “Ebola is caused by infection with a virus of the family, genus Ebolavirus” (CDC). The most common Ebola virus species to cause disease in humans is the Zaire ebolavirus, also known as the “Ebola
She had fever, felt a pain in her hip, loss of sleep, the then pain spread to several parts of the body over the next few days her blood pressure of dropped significantly during the first day of her illness, she also had little infected boils all over her body. Doctors thought that Addie was infected with a virus. In the first hospital and pneumonia in the hospital which specialized in children’s care.
You woke up a week ago feeling odd. You were not sure what was wrong, but your body was full of aches, you felt hot to the touch, and you kept vomiting. Your mother told you to lay down and rest, hoping it was just a cold. After a few days, you began to feel better, well enough that you wanted to return to the river to watch the trade ships come in. Now, unfortunately, your symptoms have come back with a vengeance – your fever is back along with intense abdominal pain, your mouth is bleeding without being wounded, and every time you vomit, it appears black in color. Also, when you look in the mirror, your skin has changed from the sun-kissed color you have always been to a dull yellow hue. The doctor comes in to examine you; he makes many “tsk tsk” noises and hurries out of the room with a cloth over his face. The doctor mumbles to your mother that he believes you have Yellow Jack and there is nothing more he can do, you are going to die. Your mother weeps uncontrollably yet you cannot react because another horrendous pain in your head has doubled you over. Soon, as you stop shaking and begin to relax, the sounds of the doctor and your mother become white noise and your surroundings begin to dull until you prove the doctor right; another person fell victim to the infectious Yellow Fever virus.
On November 28th, Dr. Peter Jahlring of the Institute was in his lab testing a. virus culture from the monkeys. Much to his horror, the blood tested positive. for the deadly Ebola Zaire virus. Ebola Zaire is the most lethal of all strains. of the Ebola.
Yellow fever is a horrible disease for those who begin to show symptoms, and while that number is low, of those who do become ill 50% die; only after having two rounds ...
J.P., a 58 year old female, presents to the Emergency Room on March 18th. She has a past medical history of cervical cancer, atheroembolism of the left lower extremity, fistula of the vagina, peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy, glaucoma, GERD, depression, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and sickle cell anemia. She complains of right lower extremity pain accompanied by fatigue, a decreased appetite, increased work of breathing, burning on urination, and decreased urine output for three days.
A patient should remain on bed rest and receive well balanced nutrition. Patients should be restricted from school and or work until fever is reduced and jaundice diminishes. If the patient is vomiting and or has diarrhea, they can be treated with antiemetic medications. Also, adequate water intake is necessary.
E. Coli 0157, written by Mary Heersink, is a nerve-racking, adrenaline-filled story of a mother's experience with a then unknown deadly bacteria. The book brings up many reactions in its readers, especially the questioning of the practice of doctors in hospitals. The reader's knowledge base of scientific procedures in emergency centers was widened as well as the knowledge of how to the human body reacts to different agents in its system.
Addie Rerecich was an eleven and a half year of girl who was just as normal as any other kid her age. She played sports and was very social. All that changed one night when she woke up complaining of some pain in her hip. Her mother thought it was just a simple softball injury, so she gave her some ibuprofen and sent her back to bed. When the pain didn’t subside, she was taken to the hospital. Initially the doctors said she had symptoms of a virus. The next day she could breath well and they said she now had pneumonia. When at the hospital the disease specialist said Addie had “community-aquired” resistant staphylococcus MRSA from picking her scabs. This infection caused damage in her lungs and was so bad she was then put on ECMO, total life
In 1976 the first two Ebola outbreaks were recorded. In Zaire and western Sudan five hundred and fifty people reported the horrible disease. Of the five hundred and fifty reported three hundred and forty innocent people died. Again in 1995 Ebola reportedly broke out in Zaire, this time infecting over two hundred and killing one hundred and sixty. (Bib4, Musilam, 1)
Ebola is contracted very much like HIV: bodily fluids such as blood, vomit, sharing needles, and sexual contact. The only difference is that Ebola can be transmitted from the close contact of an infected person, which is the most common means of infection. This is possible because the Ebola virus has cells on the infected person’s skin. For example, should you touch someone with the virus and then an opening on your body, like your mouth, you can be infected. This is why and how so many health care workers and family members are contaminated before a diagnosis is made. Ebola has an incubation period of 2-21 days depending on how one acquired the virus: direct (needle) or less direct (close contact) contact. Direct contact is far deadlier than the latter.
The patient is a 30 year old male with an active bacterial infection on his right leg attacking his Integumentary system. The patient is from Tanzania, Africa but came back to work in a factory that produces plastic. If he has Cellulitis, it can get bad enough to travel to other organs like the Liver and Kidney and cause failure. If this happens, Edema can form, usually on one half of the body; this is the Urinary system being attacked. The main system being attacked is the Lymphatic system because Cellulitis attacks the lymphatic draining system. For Cellulitis to travel to organs, it had to go through the blood, so the cardiovascular system is also in effect.
The symptoms were blisters of the skins with puss and bleeding with high fever. The government was very aware and thought they had a vaccine but the micro-organism morphed into another pathogen that was airborn and the previous vaccine was no
The patient has also been suffering from frequent fevers in the past two months. He has also suffered from frequent headaches but has always taken painkillers (Bloland & Williams, 2003, p. 58). On fevers, the patient has frequently visited a local health clinic that has never done any diagnosis but has given medication, which reduces the fever.
To contain and limit the Ebola Virus Disease, the Emergency Department put together some recommendations of what to look for and what do if the patient does have Ebola Virus Disease. The first thing upon arrival to the hospital is to check the patient’s history of travel, especially if it was to a country with recent outbreaks of Ebola. Second, all signs and symptoms of the virus must be checked including high fever, headache, muscle pain, and weakness. Third, isolate the patient in a separate room or closed off area, and start the procedures to prevent further transmission. Very few health care workers should take care of the patient to prevent spreading, and a log should be kept of who enters the room. If symptoms increase, the health care workers must wear face masks, water-resistant gowns, and two pairs of gloves. Finally, someone must notify the Hospital Infection Control Program and report to the local health department. This web page will help in conducting further research about what the U.S. is doing once Ebola Virus Disease is contracted, and how they plan on treating
Medicine presents a myriad of complex puzzles waiting to be solved. Though not for the faint of heart, Internal Medicine allows for a daily dose of these complex diagnostic and treatment problems. During my Internal Medicine rotation, one of my most memorable cases was a 44-year-old who presented with shortness of breath, cough, night sweats, fever, focal neurological