Case Study: Endocarditis Risk and Treatment for a 30-Year-Old Female

This case study presents a 30-year-old female patient seeking a Percocet prescription, but her medical history reveals drug abuse, chronic back pain, osteomyelitis, and a tricuspid valve replacement. The patient's symptoms, including persistent back and thigh pain and a feeling of dying, raise concerns about infective endocarditis, especially given her history. The case emphasizes the need for thorough medical evaluation, including blood tests, before prescribing medication. The study discusses the potential risks of prescribing Percocet, the importance of considering alternative treatments, and the potential for endocarditis due to her history. The analysis highlights the need to address both pain and potential underlying infections, with treatment options including antibiotics like Ampicillin and Penicillin if endocarditis is diagnosed. The patient's history of tricuspid valve replacement and drug abuse is a key factor in her condition.

Running head: CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
Name of Student
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Author’s Note

1CASE STUDY
In the given case study, a 30-year-old female patient wants a Percocet prescription, which is a
painkiller. However, the health history of the patient shows drug abuse, chronic back pain,
osteomyelitis and tricuspid valve replacement. Based on the medical history the patient should be
prescribed medications for infective endocarditis (Burns, 2013). The continuous pain of patient
in her back and thighs requires urgent medication to cure and relieve her from such pain. The
patient’s persistent demand of Percocet made the situation vulnerable because Percocet is not the
appropriate medication for her treatment. The patient has been suffering such pain from the past
one year but has not done anything needful. This makes the patient more vulnerable to the
infective endocarditis. Endocarditis is a heart disease where the infection of endocardium takes
place, the patient has become more prone to endocarditis most probably because of her history of
drug abuse and tricuspid valve replacement and her current symptoms of pain in joints and
muscles and the feeling of dying (Colville, Sharma and Albouaini, 2016).
However, the chances of endocarditis is one hypothesis, the other hypothesis can be that the
patient is only suffering from acute pain because of her earlier chronic back pain. In order to
prescribe Percocet, there are several tests, which need to be done, as the medication cannot be
prescribed based on the patient’s desire. Percocet works well during the initial signs of pain
(Meinhofer, 2016), but the patient has been suffering such pain from the past one year, one of the
reasons why the patient should not be provided with Percocet. And also the patients feeling of
dying is another major reason for not prescribing Percocet because consumption of Percocet
might cause some mental changes. The patient was supervised to get a blood test done in order to
check the occurrence of Endocarditis (Wong, Karppinen and Samartzis, 2017). Then according
to the results of the medical report, appropriate medications should be given to the patient for
both her pain and treatment of endocarditis if diagnosed.

2CASE STUDY
The patient can be treated in 4-6 weeks with the medication of Ampicillin and Penicillin
(Antibiotics) (Meinhofer, 2016), if she is diagnosed with endocarditis. The medical history of the
patient of tricuspid valve replacement can be the major cause for her immense pain in back and
thighs. The patient’s pain started from back and then emerged to thighs reflects the symptoms of
endocarditis (Østerdal et al., 2016). The patient’s pain has become unbearable that is why the
patient says that she is dying which also indicates her mental disturbance. If the patient is not
treated for Endocarditis, the infection might lead to some severe health conditions (Meinhofer,
2016). The patient’s desire of Percocet is also because it will give her temporary relief from her
acute back and thigh pain (Wong, Karppinen and Samartzis, 2017). However, the use of Percocet
might not relieve pain instead; it might cause other side effects. Her history of drug abuse might
be the reason behind the addiction of Percocet.

3CASE STUDY
References
Burns, B. D. (2013). An evidence-based approach to the evaluation and treatment of low back
pain in the emergency department. Emergency medicine practice, 2.
Colville, T., Sharma, V., & Albouaini, K. (2016). Infective endocarditis in intravenous drug
users: a review article. Postgraduate medical journal, 92(1084), 105-111.
Meinhofer, A. (2016). The war on drugs: Estimating the effect of prescription drug supply-side
interventions. Available at SSRN 2716974.
Østerdal, O. B., Salminen, P. R., Jordal, S., Sjursen, H., Wendelbo, Ø., & Haaverstad, R. (2016).
Cardiac surgery for infective endocarditis in patients with intravenous drug use.
Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, 22(5), 633-640.
Wong, A. Y., Karppinen, J., & Samartzis, D. (2017). Low back pain in older adults: risk factors,
management options and future directions. Scoliosis and spinal disorders, 12(1), 14.