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PHA7061-C - Cause of Tetanus - Question Answers

   

Added on  2020-03-02

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This template must be used to answer the case study. (Please type your answers within the box underneath each question)Student name (LAST NAME first name):Student number:Campus:Tutorial session (time and room no.):Tutor’s name:1.Rationale for giving Mary a tetanus booster(Total: 5 marks)1.1What is the organism that causes tetanus and why is it of concern in this situation? The organism that causes tetanus is the spore of bacterium Clostridium tetani. The bacteria primarily grow on dead tissues such as those surrounding tissue injuries. It releases certain potent neurotoxins during its growth and affects the neuromuscular system of the body often causing severe muscle spasms. The neurotoxin and hemolysin involved are tetanospasmin and tetanolysin respectively (“Tetanus - the disease.”WHO, 2017). Tetanus can cause severe complications if untreated. Fractures of the bone may occur due to muscle spasm and convolutions, other secondary infection may develop and even the patient may suffer from coma in extreme cases. Hence the situation Mary is going through is concern.1.2According to the guidelines in the “The Australian Immunisation Handbook” (Dept. of health, 2017) on administering a tetanus booster, discuss the rationale for giving Mary the tetanus boosterTetanus vaccination contains a toxoid that stimulates the production of antitoxins against the neurotoxins rather the prevent growth of the bacteria. Even if complete immunization dose is taken during childhood by middle age the levels of toxoids in blood reduces considerably. Hence, the Australian Immunisation Handbook suggests adults above 50 years of age who did not receive any dose in the previous 10years should receive a tetanus booster dTpa, to prevent pertussis as well (“4.19

Tetanus.”Immunise, 2017). 2.Physiological basis of the three wound observations (Total: 10 marks) 2.1For each of the three wound observations indicate, and provide a rationale, as to whether it is a sign or a symptom.Signs and symptoms are two medical terms extensively used in the field of clinical science for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment of patients. These are two terms often mistakenly used synonymously but have distinct meanings. Symptoms are the feelings experienced by a person due to his/her diseased condition for example feelings of nausea, dizziness, light-headedness. These parameters cannot be easily measured from outside the patient’s body. On the other hand signs can be observed by people other than the patient to get an overall idea of the patient’s clinical and medical condition. Signs are often evaluated by doctors of concerned medical practitioners. Signs of a disease include fever, swelling, bleeding, etc. As symptoms and severity of the degree of symptoms can only be measured from a patient’s description it is a subjective terms while symptoms while are easily observed from outside of the body are objective in nature (Fenichel, 2009). Hence, it can be concluded that all the three observations made in the given patient are physical manifestations of the disease and can be referred to as Signs. 2.2Discuss the physiological basis of the first observation.Inflammation is the immediate bodily response to tissue injury, where the body aims to repair the damaged area and fight against invading foreign organisms. It includes both vascular and cellular response primarily mediated by chemicals such as histamine, serotonin and complement system (Spitalnik, 2014). The considerable increase in blood flow carrying immune cells makes the region red and hot to touch. 2.3Discuss the physiological basis of the second observation.

With dilation of blood vessels in the surrounding regions of the tissue injury permeability to different immune cells, chemical mediators and hormones increase and fluid carrying such cells move into the interstitial space between the cells in order to fight foreign organisms and repair the damaged tissues (Medzhitov, 2010). This causes swelling of the surrounding tissues. 2.4Discuss the physiological basis of the third observation.Bacterial contamination in injured tissues often causes purulent odorous discharges due to unhealthy bacterial growth and metabolism. Further, tissue fluid carrying immune cells and dead WBC are discharged from the injured area as the body attempts to fight such invading microorganisms (Dodiuk-Gad et al., 2007). Thus, growing bacterial contamination and early stages of inflammation are characterised by purulent odorous discharges.

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