Question

In: Nursing

Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some...

Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some gastrointestinal symptoms. At first it just started out as a bit of abdominal pain and cramping, followed by diarrhea so at first Bruce just thought he had a stomach bug. But weeks went by and the diarrhea just increased in frequency, and instead of feeling better, he started to feel really fatigued. This has been going on for 8 months before his wife finally convinced him to make an appointment with a doctor, who then referred him to a gastroenterologist. A couple of months later when he finally goes to his specialist appointment, Bruce admits after questioning that he has had bleeding with his stool but he didn’t want to tell the doctor as he was embarrassed and didn’t want to get checked for hemorrhoids. The gastroenterologist also asks many questions about Bruce’s diet and his weight and discovers that Bruce has lost 15 kg in the past year despite eating a lot of hot chips and mashed potatoes – the only thing Bruce feels doesn’t make his diarrhea worse. The gastroenterologist then tells Bruce he would like to perform a colonoscopy to investigate further. After the colonoscopy, the surgeon tells Bruce that they found a number of polyps in his bowel which is not necessarily a cause for concern as many polyps are benign, but they will have to wait on the results of the biopsies to make sure none of them were malignant. A week later the surgeon calls Bruce, unfortunately it is bad news – the biopsy shows evidence that the growth is malignant and anaplastic and that they can’t rule out metastatic growths. Bruce is called back in for follow-up tests, and they find that there is an abnormal growth in his liver also. Bruce is now sent to an oncologist, who recommends that he has surgery to remove any remaining polyps, a small portion of his bowel, and the abnormal growth from his liver. Based on the advice from his oncologist, Bruce also decides to undergo chemotherapy treatment. Whilst doing some routine checks after his treatment, Bruce is informed he has neutropenia.

Question 4

Discuss two measures that may minimize Bruce’s chances of contracting coronavirus. In your answer, identify two different links in the chain of infection that can be broken and explain how they are broken.

Solutions

Expert Solution

Cancer patients are at higher risk of serious illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) as their immune systems are often compromised because of their tumors or due to the treatments they receive. Here since Bruce has neutropenia, his immune system is weaker and makes him more susceptible to this virus.

Practice Hand Hygiene

Although, ‘wash your hands’ seem like a broken record now, it the single most important piece of advice all the public health experts the world over have to offer.

  • Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water, at least for 20 seconds
  • Wash your hands before eating and before touching face, eyes, nose, and mouth
  • Wash your hands after blowing nose, coughing, or sneezing and after using the bathroom
  • Wash your hands after touching pets/animals, taking out the garbage, or collecting trash
  • Wash your hands after touching items used by others or visiting a public place
  • Wash your hands before and after treating a wound or cut, or caring for your port, catheter, or other devices
  • Always carry a hand sanitizer (preferably alcohol-based) to clean your hands when you are out
  • Use alcohol-based sanitizer before and after touching things you often use, such as door handles, ATM or credit card, table surfaces, keys, including any items that are used by other people

Practice Isolation (Social Distancing)

  • Stay at home. Avoid non-essential travel.
  • Keep at least 6 feet distance (two arm’s length) with anyone, including family members, if possible.
  • Stay away from anyone having a fever, flu, or any other infection.
  • Avoid large crowds (especially in poorly ventilated spaces) like social events, public gatherings, meetings, schools, malls, etc. If you have to be around a crowd, wear a mask.
  • If your cancer-treating doctor has informed you that you are at high risk for infection and that you have a weakened immune system, you may be advised to stay away from children and limit visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two links in chain infection can be:

  • By ‘reservoir’, we mean a place where germs can live and multiply. The ‘place’ can be a person – a patient/client or a member of staff – but it can also be any part of the surrounding area of a health care setting, furnishings in the patient’s/client’s room, and the equipment we use in health care.

So to prevent this as mentioned above washing your hands thoroughly and being very careful while going to check-ups at the hospital

  • The portal of entry into the ‘host’

    This means that the germs that have been moved from the reservoir now invade the person (the ‘host’). They can do this by entering wounds and cuts, being swallowed, and being breathed in.

    Patients who are having treatments that involve cutting the skin or placing medical instruments inside the body, such as a catheter being placed into the bladder or a feeding tube being passed

    down the throat, are also at risk of infection. Another example is people who inject drugs with used needles.

So precautions must be taken while carrying out colonoscopy and using needles, to prevent the virus from entering the body of the patient. So strict sanitization procedures should take place in circumstances like these


Related Solutions

Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some gastrointestinal symptoms. At first it just started out as a bit of abdominal pain and cramping, followed by diarrhea so at first Bruce just thought he had a stomach bug. But weeks went by and the diarrhea just increased in frequency, and instead of feeling better, he started to feel really fatigued. This has been going on for 8 months before his wife finally...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some gastrointestinal symptoms. At first it just started out as a bit of abdominal pain and cramping, followed by diarrhea so at first Bruce just thought he had a stomach bug. But weeks went by and the diarrhea just increased in frequency and instead of feeling better he started to feel really fatigued. This has been going on for 8 months before his wife finally...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some gastrointestinal symptoms. At first it just started out as a bit of abdominal pain and cramping, followed by diarrhea so at first Bruce just thought he had a stomach bug. But weeks went by and the diarrhea just increased in frequency, and instead of feeling better, he started to feel really fatigued. This has been going on for 8 months before his wife finally...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some gastrointestinal symptoms. At first it just started out as a bit of abdominal pain and cramping, followed by diarrhea so at first Bruce just thought he had a stomach bug. But weeks went by and the diarrhea just increased in frequency, and instead of feeling better, he started to feel really fatigued. This has been going on for 8 months before his wife finally...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some...
Bruce is a 47-year-old man, who decides he needs to visit his doctor due to some gastrointestinal symptoms. At first it just started out as a bit of abdominal pain and cramping, followed by diarrhea so at first Bruce just thought he had a stomach bug. But weeks went by and the diarrhea just increased in frequency, and instead of feeling better, he started to feel really fatigued. This has been going on for 8 months before his wife finally...
Fred, a 40 year old man, goes to see his doctor. He tells her he is...
Fred, a 40 year old man, goes to see his doctor. He tells her he is experiencing weight loss, polyuria, polydipsia, and extreme fatigue. The doctor notes he has a fruity smell to his breath so she orders a fasting glucose for the next day. The fasting glucose was 150 mg/dL (normal range 70-99 mg/dL). Choose the treatment option(s) that best fit this patient's condition. a. a calculated diet and exercise b. metformin HCl (Glucophage) c. vasopressin d. a and...
Ori is a 60-year-old man who is returning to his doctor to find out the results...
Ori is a 60-year-old man who is returning to his doctor to find out the results of his blood tests. When George visited his doctor last week, his blood pressure was 180/100 (preferred <140/90). The laboratory results are shown: Test results George’s results Reference range SERUM Glucose 16 mmol/L 4 - 6 mmol/L Triglyceride 3.2 mmol/L <2.5 mmol/L Total cholesterol 5.8 mmol/L <5 mmol/L LDL cholesterol 5 mmol/L <4.6 mmol/L HDL cholesterol 0.8 mmol/L 0.9 – 1.4 mmol/L HbA1c 10%...
Samuel is a 34-year-old man. He is seeing his family doctor today because he has been...
Samuel is a 34-year-old man. He is seeing his family doctor today because he has been feeling more and more muscle strain lately. After several investigations, a diagnosis is made: primary hypoparathyroidism, which means that its parathyroid glands do not secrete enough PTH. a) Explain what effect this pathology would have on Samuel's calcemia. Produce a clear, precise and detailed answer by describing all the functions and effects of PTH. b) This disorder of calcemia causes an inhibition of neurons...
Taylor is a 1 year old male at the doctor for his first-year wellness visit and...
Taylor is a 1 year old male at the doctor for his first-year wellness visit and necessary immunizations. Taylor's mother approaches the pharmacist abour concerning regarding the link between autism and immunizations. How would you respond to the concerns of his mother? Write an ethical response to her question (500 words roughly).
Case : A 64-year old man who was recently told by his physician that he needed...
Case : A 64-year old man who was recently told by his physician that he needed to begin taking insulin for his diabetes is afraid of needles. He has had diabetes for 20 years and doesn’t think this new plan is necessary. He is very concerned about administering his own injections. The provider responds by instructing the patient on the physiology, because she believes the foundation for diabetes education is to understand how the illness works. Question1: Think back to...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT