Case studies Summer-2015 (60 points)

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Each illness is caused by a bacterium (NOT viral)

Choose one of the three cases and complete the assignment by following the guidelines.

Write a typed, well-constructed (complete sentences, proper grammar) report of not more than three double spaced pages (4 points).

Devote at least one paragraph to answering each of the 6 questions. (8 points each)

Include a reference section with at least 4 citations, including at least one published reference. Use resources such as microbiology text books, encyclopedias, HCC Library databases (e.g. Pro Quest Biology, Pro Quest Nursing) journals and online medical sites to research these questions. Indicate the source of information you found in APA or MLA format. Do not forget to include in-text citations every time you borrow someone’s idea, even if you paraphrased it. Be sure to include the publication date. Comment on the reliability of the source (why you think this source is reliable) under each reference. (8 points)

All references must be cited, and direct quotes from the references must be indicated as such, using quotation marks. However, in science writing, direct quotes are seldom used. Instead, paraphrase the information in the reference, and supply the citation. In the case of plagiarism, all students involved will receive a “0” on this assignment. Thereafter, plagiarism will be handled according to the College’s Academic Honesty Policy, with possible failure of the course and suspension from the College.

Please submit your case studies through Canvas as either .doc, .docx, or .pdf file types.

Case 1

A 27-year old white female presented at the walking clinic of her local physician on August 15. On physical exam, the patient had a fever of 101.3F. She appeared fatigued, had tender joints, and complained of a headache, a stiff neck and a backache. The physician noticed a circular “rash” about 5 inches in diameter, with a bright red leading edge and a dim center in the form of a “bull’s eye”. The physician noted an irregular heartbeat. The patient complained of lack of ability to concentrate.

The patient gave the following history: She is a graduate student in the wildlife program at the university in town. She was in the field for three weeks in Wisconsin during the months of May and June. She tracks small mammals in the field and studies their behavior. It had been a warm, wet spring and she complained of a large number of biting flies, mosquitoes and ticks in the area. She felt well until about 2 weeks after returning to her home. Since that time, many of her symptoms had progressed. She finally found that she could take it no more.

What microorganism causes this disease?

What is your best diagnosis of this case?

What features are critical to your diagnosis?

What further steps should be taken to clear up the problem?

How is this disease transmitted?

What symptoms might the patient develop if the disease is not treated? What is the prognosis with treatment?

Case 2

An 11 year old girl had to stay home from school on Tuesday morning because of a sore throat. She spiked a high fever of 103F that day. Wednesday, she was feeling worse, still feverish, her tongue was swollen and had turned bright red, whitish-yellow patches appeared on her inflamed throat, and a sandpaper-like rash had developed over much of her body. Bacteria cultured from throat swabs showed ? hemolysis on blood agar and were Gram positive.

What is your diagnosis here?

What is organism is responsible?

What pathogenic feature of this organism caused the severity of this problem?

What were the critical features to your diagnosis?

How is this disease transmitted?

What symptoms might the patient develop if the disease is not treated? What is the prognosis with treatment?

Case 3

A 4-year old girl enters the emergency room with bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. The child’s mother reports that the child has had these symptoms for about 24 hours and she has not passed any urine for about 12 hours.

The child is enrolled in a day care center and the group had recently made a field trip to a fast food place to learn about different jobs. The children had a lunch of ground beef, fries and cola after meeting with different workers. This field trip was 4 days earlier on Friday. The child had a temperature of 102F and showed physical signs of dehydration. Blood samples drawn showed evidence of greatly reduced kidney function and lysed red blood cells.

What is your diagnosis here?

What is organism is responsible?

What pathogenic feature of this organism caused the severity of this problem?

What were the critical features to your diagnosis?

How is this disease transmitted?

What symptoms might the patient develop if the disease is not treated? What is the prognosis with treatment?