Paper Sample on HL Suffers GI Tract Infection: Symptoms, Treatment, Rationale

Introduction

HL is suffering from a GI tract infection, which is evidenced by the symptoms stated. The symptoms tend to be related to the Gastrointestinal and also the Hepatobiliary disorders. Although the gastrointestinal infection lasts for a few days, its symptoms include abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. The drugs the patient gets prescribed can effectively manage gastrointestinal disorders and also treat the disease.

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Rationale

Since patient HL has a history of drug and narcotic abuse and that he may be suffering from Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a viral infection and can be the cause of GI tract infections since persons with Hepatitis C may experience abdominal pain, nausea and also vomiting. The underlying symptoms of patient HL may be a possibility of food poisoning (Pindyck et al., 2019). Before a diagnosis of a disease is made regarding the patient, a brief history should get taken that includes asking the patients questions such as why use Prednisolone drug, Is there a possibility that one has been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, Is one currently using narcotics or alcohol, How long have the symptoms presented, nature of stool and vomit (Fraij et al., 2020). One will conduct some lab works, including stool for ova and cysts, conduct Complete Blood Count Tests.

Also, a physical examination gets conducted to rule out the elevation of temperature that suggests bacterial infection, Blood pressure, pulse rate to confirm the severity of the condition (Gale et al.,2019 p.294). Through the physical examination, one can quickly rule out weight loss caused by severe dehydration. Abdominal examination, when conducted, shows mild tenderness and pain, which shows that there is a possibility of bacterial infection.

Medication

Patient HL came to the hospital with three drugs that include; Nifedipine 30 mg, which is a calcium channel blocker and thus relaxes the cardiac muscles and also the smooth muscles, it is mostly used in treating cardiac conditions such as hypertension and Ischemic Chest Pains. Synthroid 100mg, which usually used to restore the low levels of thyroid in the body to an average level (Ferraro et al., 2019 p.19). Prednisolone 10 mg, which is a steroid, is used to treat inflammations or even ulcerative colitis. A low dose of the drug gets prescribed since corticosteroids place the patient at a higher risk since it can cause gastrointestinal bleeding or even or even perforation of the gastrointestinal walls.

Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment

Based on the history collected and the conclusion of the blood works, one will diagnose the HL patient with Acute gastroenteritis. Acute gastroenteritis refers to intestinal infections, which presents itself with diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps (Ferraro et al., 2019). The disease can spread when one comes in direct contact with the infected person and also when one consumes contaminated food.

For one to treat and manage this patient, one will use a collective of drugs. For high fevers, one will use Paracetamol 1g, which is an antipyretic to regulate body temperature levels. Paracetamol is known to inhibit prostaglandin synthesis; thus, it also aids in reducing pain (Ferraro et al., 2019). For diarrhea, one will use Loperamide, which belongs to the antidiarrheal class, and its works involve to reduce the flow of fluids and electrolytes and also reduce bowel movements. For one to manage nausea and vomiting, one will prescribe the use of Nosic 10mg, even though it gets mostly used with pregnant women, but it is effective in preventing one from feeling nauseated or have the urge to vomit. Alternatively, one can use Ondansetron, an anti-nausea drug that works effectively in preventing nausea and vomiting. The drugs work in the stomach by blocking signals to the brain that bring about vomiting and the nauseated feeling. The drug has a positive history of been used in chemotherapy to treat cancer patients and that it prevents vomiting and also nausea.

References

Ferraro, M., Painter, M. S., & Bombei, B. (2019). Hepatitis C–Screening, Diagnosis, Management & Treatment. Osteopathic Family Physician, 11(1), 12-19. https://ofpjournal.com/index.php/ofp/article/view/595.

Fraij, O., Castro, N., De Leon Castro, L. A., & Brandt, L. J. (2020). Stool cultures show a lack of impact in the management of acute gastroenteritis for hospitalized patients in the Bronx, New York. Gut Pathogens, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13099-020-00369-2Gale, A. R., & Wilson, M. (2016).

Diarrhea: Initial Evaluation and Treatment in the Emergency Department. Emergency Medicine Clinics, 34(2), 293-308. DOI: 10.1016/j.emc.2015.12.006

Pindyck, T., Hall, A. J., Tate, J. E., Cardemil, C. V., Kambhampati, A. K., Wikswo, M. E., Payne, D. C., Grytdal, S., Boom, J. A., Englund, J. A., Klein, E. J., Halasa, N., Selvarangan, R., Staat, M. A., Weinberg, G. A., Beenhouwer, D. O., Brown, S. T., Holodniy, M., Lucero-Obusan, C., … Parashar, U. (2019). Validation of acute gastroenteritis-related international classification of diseases, clinical modification codes in pediatric and adult US populations. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 70(11), 2423-2427. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciz846