Chp 12 Mod 4A Flashcards
Common Medical Emergencies
Respiratory (Asthma, Emphysema)
Cardiovascular (Heart attack, congestive Heart Failure)
Neurologic (Seizure, stroke, syncope)
**Gastrointestinal **(Appendicitis, Pancreatitis)
**Urologic **(Kidney Stones)
**Endocrine **(Diabetes Mellitus)
**Hematologic **(Sickle Cell, Hemophilia)
**Immunologic **(Anaphylactic reaction, food allergy)
Toxicologic (Substance abuse, food/plant poisoning)
**Psychiatric **(Alzhemier, schizophrenia, Depression)
**Gynecologic **(Vaginal bleeding, STDs)
Tunnel Vision
-When you become focused on one aspect of the patient’s condition and exclude all others, thus causing you to miss an important injury or illness.
Causes Of Infectious Disease
Bacteria
**Viruses **
Fungi
Protozoa (Parasites)
Helminths (Parasites)
Herpes Simplex
- Coomon Virus strain carried by humans.
- 80% of individuals carruying it are asymptomatic, but symptomatic infections can be serious and are on he rise.
- **The primary mode of infection is through close personal contact, so BSI/PPE are generally suficient to prevent the spread. **
HIV Infection
- Causes acquired immunodeficency syndrome (AIDS)
- Far less contagious then Hepatitis B.
- Only a hazard when deposited on a mucous membrane or directly into the bloodstream. This includes sexual contact or exposure to blood/body fluids.
- Pateints who are infected to not show any symptoms.
Syphilis
- Usually considered a STD, but it is also a bloodborne disease.
- Small risk for transmission through a contaminated needlestick injury or direct blood to blood contact.
- If treated with penicillin, individual is consered noncommunicable within 24-48 hours.
- INfection produces a lesion called chancre most commonly located in the genital region.
Hepatitis (In General)
- Refers to an inflammation and often infection of the liver.
- Severity of toxin-induced hepatitis depends on the amount of agent absorbed and duration of exposure.
- **Toxin-induced Hepatitis is not contagious. **
- No sure way to tell which patients with hepatitis have a contagious form of the disease and which do not.
- See other hepatitis cards for specific info.
Signs/Symptoms of Hepatitis
-Early signs of viral hepatitis include:
–Loss of appeite
–Vomiting
–Fever
–Fatigue
–Sore throat
–Cough
–Muscle and Joint Pain
–RUQ pain develops
Meningitis
- Inflammation of the meningeal coverings of the brain and spinal cord.
- Signs/Symptoms include:
- Fever, headache, stiff neck, alterered Mental status.
- It is an uncommon disease
- Can be caused by viruses or bacteria
- One form, Meningococcal meningitis is highly contagious.
- Many states consider neingitis “repotable” and will notify you that one of yoru patients was diagnosed with meningitis which will lead to prophylactic treatement for you.
Meningococcus Menigitis
- Colonizes human nose and throat.
- Rarely causes an acute infection
- When it does cause actue infection it can be lethal.
- Patients who are infected often have red blotches on their skin. **However, many patients who have forms of meningitis that are NOT CONTAGIOUS also have red blotches. **
Hepatitis A
**Route of Infection: **Fecal-oral, infected food or drink, Can only be transmitted by a patient who has an acute infection.
Incubation Period: 2-6 weeks.
**Chronic Infection: **Chronic condition does not exist
Vaccine/Treatment: Vaccine Yes, Treatment No
**Comments: **Mild illness; 2% of patients die. After acute infection, patient has life-long immunity.
Hepatitis B
Route of Infection: Blood, Sexual Contact, Saliva, Urine, Breast milk. This disease is FAR more infectious then HIV.
Incubation Period: 4-12 weeks.
**Chronic Infection: **Chronic infections affects up to 10% of patietns and up t 90% of newborns who have disease.
Vaccine/Treatment: Vaccine Yes; treatment is minimally effecitve.
**Comments: **Up to 30% become chronic carriers. Patients are asymptomatic and without signs of liver disease yet still may infect others. Approximately 1-2% of paitients die.
Hepatitis C
**Route of Infection: **Blood, Sexual Contact
**Incubation Period: **2-10 weeks
**Chronic Infection: **Chronic infection affects 90% of patients
**Vaccine/Treatment: **No vaccine available, treatment is iminmally effective.
Comments: Cirrhosis of the liver develops in 50% of patietns with chronic Hepatitis C. Chronic infection increases the risk of cancer of liver.
Hepatitis D
**Route of Infection: **Blood, Sexual Contact
**Incubation Period: **4-12 weeks
**Chronic Infection: **Chronic infection is common
**Vaccine/Treatment: **No Vaccine available, no treatment is available.
**Comments: **Occurs in patients with active hepatitis B Infection. Fulminant disease may develop in 20% of patients.
Medications, Drugs, and Alcohol (Toxin) induced Hepatits
**Route of Infection: **Inhalation, skin or mucous membrane exposure, oral ingestion, or intravenous administration.
**Incubation Period: **Within hours to days following exposure.
**Chronic Infection: **Some chemicals may initiate an inflammatory response that continues to cause liver damage long after the chemical is out of the body.
**Vaccine/Treatment: **No vaccine available; treatment is to stop exposure. In patients with an overdose of acetaminophen, certain drugs may minimize liver injury if given early enough.
**Comments: **This type is not contagious. Patients with toxin-induced hepatitis may have liver damage, such as jaundic. Not every exposure to a toxin will cause liver damage.
Tuberculosis
- Scientific term: Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.
- In US, tuberculosis is a chronic mycobacterial disease that usually strikes the lungs.
- Disease that occurs shortly after infetion is called Primary Tuberculosis. Except in infants, this isn’t usually serious.
- After primary infection, tuberculosis will be rendered dormant by patient’s immune system. However even after decades of lying dormant, the germ can reactivate. This is much harder to treat.
- Patients have a cough and is spread by airborne transmission where the nuclei in the droplets let out by cough can be suspended in air for a long time.
- HEPA masks are required when dealing with Tuberculosis.
Whooping Cough
- Pertussis; airborne disease caused by bacteria that affects children younger than 6 years of age.
- Signs and symptoms include:
–fever
–“Whoop” sound that occurs when patient tries to inhale after a coughing attack.
-Best way to prevent exposure is to place a mask on patient and on yourself.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
- MRSA
- Bacterium that causes infections and is resistant to most antibotics.
- Believed to be transmitted from patient to patietn via unwashed hands.
- 5%-15% of health care providers carry MRSA in their nares.
- Pathogen can be transferred to skin and other areas of the body through a break in the skin.
- Factors that increase the risk of MRSA developing incldue antibitoic therapy, prolonged hospital stays, a stay in intensive care/burn unit, and exposure to infected patient.
- INcubation period for MRSA appears to be between 5 and 45 days.
- Results in soft tissue infections.
Hantavirus
- A rare but deadly virus transmitted through rodent urine and droppings.
- Eschericia coli (a common casue of pediatric diarrhea in develoipn countries) is being reported along side this dieases in rising numbers.
- Not transmitted from person to person directly; rather they are carriebd by a vehicle such as food, or a vector, such as rodents.
West Nile Virus
- Virus’ vecotr is the mosquito and it affects both humans and birds.
- Not communicable and do not pose a risk to you during patient care.
SARS
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome.
- Serious, life threatening viral infection.
- Starts with flulike symptoms which may progress to pneumonia, respiratory failure, and in some cases, death.
- Most cases have involved persons who lived with or cared for a person with SARS or who had expsure to contaminated secretions from a SARS patient.
Avian Flu
- Virus that occurs naturally in bird population
- Carried by intestinal tract of wild birds and does not usually cause illness **but in domestic bird populations (such as chickens, ducks, turkeys) it is very contagious. **
- Birds acquire illness from contact with contaimnated excretions or surfaces htat are contaiminated with excretions.
- If an infected bird is used for food and is cooked, it does NOT pose a threat to those who eat it.
- No rapid human to human cases of this disease have been reported.
H1N1
- Initially introduced as swine flu.
- **Is Contagious **
- Type of influenza amoung hundreds of other strains of influenze.
