Infectious Conjunctivitis l Case Study

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1. Background of the case study (Total: 5 marks)
1.1 What is infectious conjunctivitis?
Infectious conjunctivitis can be described as the inflammation of the conjunctive in an
individual caused due to infection of viruses or bacteria. It can be identified by the redness
in the eyes as well as the sticky discharge releasing from the eyes of the infected person.
In the case of conjunctivitis, the doctors prescribe antibiotic eye drops to the patients
(Boustcha & Nicolle, 2011).
1.2 Of the fourmicro-organisms listed below, justify which one is more likely to be the cause
of John’s eye infection. Indicate why the other micro-organisms from the list are least likely
to cause the infection.
Legionella pneumophila
Yes or no, with reason:
No. This is a bacterial strain which is responsible for causing legionnaires disease, which
occurs due to consumption of contaminated water. An organism passing through
consumption of contaminated water is less likely to cause eye infection.
Plasmodium ovale
Yes or no, with reason:
Plasmodium ovale is a class of protozoa, which are responsible for causing malaria and is
very less likely to cause Conjunctivitis or any other eye infection. The life cycle of this
protozoan completes in liver and RBCs and thus, has nothing to do with eye and its
membrane.
Adenovirus
Yes or no, with reason:
Yes, this is the largest class of viruses which are responsible for causing conjunctivitis.
The disease caused by these viruses is highly communicable and severe and might result
into permanent blindness if not treated well (BenEzra, 2006).
Staphylococcus aureus
Yes or no, with reason:
Yes, these bacteria are responsible for causing acute bacterial conjunctivitis. The bacterial
conjunctivitis is less frequent than the viral one. However, it is also highly contagious. The
infection due to these bacteria is treated using the antibiotic eye drops (Tabbara, El-Asrar,
& Khairallah, 2014).
2. Mechanism of action and adverse reactions (Total: 5 marks)
2.1 Describe the mechanism of action of gentamicin?
Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic. It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic and
bactericidal in nature. The mechanism of action of this antibiotic involves the inhibition of
the process of protein synthesis in the bacterial species causing conjunctivitis by binding

to the 30s ribosomal unit. This antibiotic is highly effective against the gram-negative
bacteria (Bartlett & Jaanus, 2013).
2.2 Name two adverse reactions of this drug?
However, Gentamicin is considered to be highly effective drug against gram negative
bacteria, there are certain side effects of this drug as well. They are:
 It may cause damage to the kidney if taken in concentration higher than 2 mg/L
 It may also cause neurotoxicity and can result into loss of control of bodily
movements, vertigo and such others (Hahn & Sarre, 2010).
3. Physiological basis of signs (Total: 10 marks)
3.1 Sign 1:
Redness and swelling in eyes
Explanation of this phenomenon:
The reddening and swelling in the eyes occur as a result of dilation of the blood vessels
due to infection. Itching in the eyes can lead to an allergy-like response in the eyes, which
leads to dilation of the tiny blood vessels (Craft, Gordon, Huether, McCance, & Brashers,
2018).
3.2 Sign 2:
Pain in the eyes
Explanation of this phenomenon:
The pain in the eyes occurs when the optic nerve situated at the back of the eyeball,
connecting it to the brain, becomes inflamed as a result of the bacterial or viral infection.
3.3 Sign 3:
Sticky discharge from eyes
Explanation of this phenomenon:
It is actually the mucus which is secreted by the eyes in the case of inflammation due to
infection and due to an effort of the eye glands to keep the eyes lubricated and moistened
(Craft, Gordon, Huether, McCance, & Brashers, 2018).
4. Infection control issues (Total: 5 marks)
4.1 Issue 1:
Lack of nursing staff
Discussion as to why this is an issue:
This is a major issue because the nursing staff needs to be available at the aged care
facilities to take care of the aged people, as they are incapable of doing so. They need to
be available for the aged patients in the case of conjunctivitis to wipe the regular
secretions of mucus, to put the eye drops in given time intervals and to make sure that
they wear required safety gears to prevent the infection from spreading to other healthy
people in the aged-care facility (Lee & Bishop, 2012).
4.2 Issue 2:
Less awareness and training among the patients as well as nursing staff about the
disease
Discussion as to why this is an issue:
The patients need to be well informed about the disease, its causes, its effects and the