Question

1. Septic Sarah

Sarah developed septicaemia as a result of her wound.  Blood cultures at that time were positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae. She was hospitalised and was immediately treated with intravenous penicillin. Within two minutes of the injection, Sarah collapsed into unconsciousness with an irregular heart rate and a dramatic drop in blood pressure.

3. Based on the information above, was this the first time that Sarah was exposed to penicillin? Describe the physiological mechanism to support your answer.

4. Name one drug that would you administer to Sarah as she collapsed and provide its mechanism of action.

5. After her full recovery, would you recommend that Sarah get vaccinated against S. pneumoniae? If so, which type of pneumococcus vaccine would you recommend and why? If you wouldn’t recommend any pneumococcus vaccine, provide your reasoning.

Answer 1

A).Yes, Sarah is exposed first time to Penicillin because the condition developed by her indicates that she is allergic to penicillin. ( If she knows that she is allergic she will not take penicillin, so it is her first time of exposure).

Common signs of allergy include hives,rashes & itching .In severe reaction of infection leads to​​​​​ Anaphylaxis. Symptoms include- Trouble in breathing, Vomiting,Rapid pulse,Loss of consciousness,Drop in blood pressure & Seizers .This symptoms are seen in Sarah.

The Anaphylaxis is a type-1 hypersensitivity reaction.The physiological mechanism of it is in the following images:

1.

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2.

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B)The drug to give Sarah at this condition is Adrenaline or Epinephrine intravenously.

The mechanism of Adrenaline effects the mechanism of hypersensitivity.It is simply represented in the following image:

C) The antibiotics that can be taken by her other than penicillin are quinolones, Tetracycline etc.

for S.pneumonia she can get vaccinated by Pneumococcal Vaccines because vaccines help in development of her own antibodies .

there are two types of Pneumococcal Vaccines- Pneumococcal Conjugated Vaccine (PCV13) & Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine ( PPSV23) for adults and children.

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