Case Study: An 83-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility presents to the emergency department with generalized edema of extremities and abdomen.
Case Study: An 83-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility presents to the emergency department with generalized edema of extremities and abdomen.
An 83-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility presents to the emergency department with generalized edema of extremities and abdomen. History obtained from staff reveals the patient has history of malabsorption syndrome and difficulty eating due to lack of dentures. The patient has been diagnosed with protein malnutrition.
ORDER A CUSTOMIZED, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
Good News For Our New customers . We can help you in Completing this assignment and pay after Delivery. Our Top -rated medical writers will comprehensively review instructions , synthesis external evidence sources(Scholarly) and customize a quality assignment for you. We will also attach a copy of plagiarism report alongside, AI report alongside the assignment. Feel free to chat Us
Develop a 1- to 2-page case study analysis in which you:
Explain why you think the patient presented the symptoms described.
Identify the genes that may be associated with the development of the disease.
Explain the process of immunosuppression and the effect it has on body systems.
ORDER A CUSTOMIZED, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
Case Study Analysis
Healthcare providers assess patients to understand a presented health issue. The patient’s health history and present history provide the clinicians with a foundation for assessing a particular client. The results of an assessment then guide care providers in developing an appropriate treatment plan for the patient. In this case, an 83-year-old client presents to the emergency department. The patient presents generalized edema of the extremities and abdomen. Additionally, the caregivers reveal the patient has a history of difficulty eating caused by the lack of dentures and malabsorption syndrome. The clinician diagnoses the patient with protein malnutrition. This discussion will include causes of the presented symptoms, genes causing the disease, and the process of immunosuppression.
Reasons for the Presented Symptoms
The patient presented some symptoms, in particular the generalized edema, a health condition associated with the kwashiorkor. Water and salt in the body are held by some proteins contained in the blood vessels. The inadequacy of these proteins makes fluids leak into the tissues causing swelling (Coulthard, 2015). Thus, the swelling of the patient’s abdomen and extremities was caused by the inadequacy of these proteins in the body.
Genes leading to the Development of the Disease
The development of various diseases is associated with genetics. Similarly, genetics contribute to the development of protein malnutrition. The type of food preferred by a particular group of people is associated with their genes, leading to an imbalance of the body’s nutrients. Additionally, an unbalanced diet compromises the functioning of the immune system, leading to various diseases (Gombart et al., 2020). However, micronutrients required for the immune system’s effective functioning change with age (Maggini et al., 2018). In this case, the patient’s genes dislike foods that contain protein resulting in protein malnutrition
The Process of Immunosuppression
This process involves either permanent or temporary dysfunction of the immune response caused by insults to the immune system (Zhang et al., 2019). It is common among individuals who receive organ transplants due to the medications administered to suppress the immune system, thus preventing the body from rejecting the new organ. It increases the susceptibility of the body to diseases.
References
Coulthard, M. (2015). Edema in kwashiorkor is caused by hypoalbuminaemia. Pediatrics and international child health, 35(2), 83-89.
Gombart, A. F., Pierre, A., & Maggini, S. (2020). A review of micronutrients and the immune system–working in harmony to reduce the risk of infection. Nutrients, 12(1), 236.
Maggini, S., Pierre, A., & Calder, P. C. (2018). Immune function and micronutrient requirements change over the life course. Nutrients, 10(10), 1531.
Zhang, W., Egashira, N., & Masuda, S. (2019). Recent topics on the mechanisms of immunosuppressive therapy-related neurotoxicities. International journal of molecular sciences, 20(13), 3210.