Pathophysiological Analysis of Red Eye and Throat Pain Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of the pathophysiology of red eye and throat pain. It identifies bacterial and viral infections as primary causes of throat pain (pharyngitis), with Streptococcus pyogenes being a key bacterium. The clinical presentation includes symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and fever, diagnosed through physical exams, throat cultures, and blood tests, with treatments ranging from hydration and pain relief to antibiotics. For red eye, the report highlights the enlargement of blood vessels as the main cause, encompassing conditions like conjunctivitis and blepharitis, with clinical presentations including pain, discharge, and light sensitivity. Diagnosis involves corneal staining and intraocular pressure checks, while treatment options include antibiotic eye drops and topical ointments, depending on the underlying cause. The report references various studies to support its analysis of both conditions.

Running head: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF DISEASE
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF RED EYE AND THROAT PAIN
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1PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF DISEASE
Condition 1: Throat Pain
Pathophysiology
Throat pain, pharyngitis or sore throat is generally caused by bacterial or viral infection.
The bacteria, which is the prime reason for pharyngitis is Streptococcus pyogenes. This
bacterium has A-antigen that makes the bacteria Group A beta hemolytic streptococci. Further,
the hyaluronic acid capsule of the bacteria is also responsible for the infection. Furthermore, the
exotoxin released by the bacteria destroys the immune system of pharynx and proliferates the
infection (Renner, Mueller & Shephard, 2012).
Clinical presentation
The clinical presentation of sore throat is due to the proliferation of the bacteria within
the human body. Further, it leads to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, lower abdomen pain
body and head ache. Clinical check-up of the adult patient determines the presence of fever,
tonsil erythema or swollen tonsillitis, swollen uvula, patchy exudates and rashes on the neck after
manifestation of the bacterium (Buttaro et al., 2012).
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of pharyngitis is done based on three aspects, physical exam, throat culture and
blood tests. Throat culture is done by collecting the swab sample of the exudates from throat.
Further, using rapid strep test kit or proper lab techniques, throat culture reports are generated. In
physical assessment, the physician checks the throat and diagnoses patches and swelling. Further
checkup involves identification of swollen lymph nodes. Blood test is performed to determine
the presence of mononucleosis in blood culture of patient (Fine, Nizet & Mandl, 2012).

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Treatment
To relieve the symptoms of the pharyngitis, remedies such as hydrating the body, using
warm salty water for gargling, and using pain relief medicines such as acetaminophen can be
useful to improve the condition however, antibiotics such as amoxicillin or penicillin can also be
used for the treatment of pharyngitis (Renner, Mueller & Shephard, 2012).
Condition 2: Red Eye
Pathophysiology
The primary cause of red eye is the enlargement of blood vessels of the eye. This dilation
or enlargement of the blood vessel can be different types such as conjunctival blood vessel,
inflammation of eyelid or blepharitis, inflammation of larcinal sac and corneal damage.
Microorganisms are also involved in some cases such as canaliculitis, in which allergic
conditions lead to redness of eye (Weinreb, Aung, & Medeiros, 2014).
Clinical presentation
The clinical examination of the patient determines symptoms such as pain, secretion of
discharge, sensation, visual disparities. Further, the patient becomes light phobic as light leads to
pain and sensation in the eye (ocular pain). Allergic conjunctivitis leads to allergy in the eyelid,
swollen eyelid, and swollen blood vessel (Buttaro et al., 2012).
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of conjunctivitis or the red eye should involve procedures such as corneal
staining, abnormal intraocular pressure and determination of abnormal pupil size, identifying the
abnormalities of cornea and determining the edema or opacity of it. Furthermore, assessment of

3PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF DISEASE
the reduced eye vision also helps in the diagnosis of the severe conjunctivitis as reduction of the
eye vision indicates severity of the condition and the eye becomes highly sensitive to bright light
(Azari & Barney, 2013).
Treatment
The approach of treatment for the red eye condition should be dependent on the patient’s
ability to withstand the treatment. Ophthalmologic consultation with application of antibiotic eye
drops can lower the risk of further bacterial infection. Whereas allergic conjunctivitis is treated
with the application of topical ointment. To treat viral conjunctivitis acyclovir with 3% acyclovir
ophthalmic ointment is used (Weinreb, Aung, & Medeiros, 2014).

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References
Azari, A. A., & Barney, N. P. (2013). Conjunctivitis: a systematic review of diagnosis and
treatment. Jama, 310(16), 1721-1730.
Buttaro, T. M., Trybulski, J., Polgar-Bailey, P., & Sandberg-Cook, J. (2012). Primary Care-E-
Book: A Collaborative Practice, 4th Edn, pp. 313-399, Elsevier Health Sciences.
Fine, A. M., Nizet, V., & Mandl, K. D. (2012). Large-scale validation of the Centor and McIsaac
scores to predict group A streptococcal pharyngitis. Archives of internal medicine,
172(11), 847-852.
Renner, B., Mueller, C. A., & Shephard, A. (2012). Environmental and non-infectious factors in
the aetiology of pharyngitis (sore throat). Inflammation Research, 61(10), 1041-1052.
Weinreb, R. N., Aung, T., & Medeiros, F. A. (2014). The pathophysiology and treatment of
glaucoma: a review. Jama, 311(18), 1901-1911.