General Food/Waterborne Enteric Diseases Flashcards
What symptoms are generally related to Food/waterborne Enteric Diseases?
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
What are some organisms that can cause food/waterborne illnesses?
Bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins
When treating someone with suspected food or waterborne disease, what is the “big picture”?
How to approach, diagnose, and manage the disease.
T/F : many of these diseases are reportable to the health dept.
T
When faced with a Pt with a food/waterborne illness, what are some important questions to ask when getting the history?
(sorry guys…)
- Sx (N,V,D-whats in it, how 2. much, mucous or blood).
- Duration of sx.
- Fever
- Travel
- Others who are ill
- Water exposure (swimming)
- incubation period
- Dehydration
- labs: check electrolytes if needed
When assessing Fluid loss (dehydration) what should you look for? (sorry again..)
- intake/output
- weight
- skin turgor
- sunken eyes
- no tears in infants
- depressed fontanels in infants
- mucous membranes are dry
- decrease in urination
- dizziness when standing up
What organisms are stool cultures used for?
bacteria and viruses
When might you want to order a stool culture?
- when definite diagnosis is needed
- prolonged illness
- outbreak amongst multiple pts
What is one downside of stool cultures?
results take a long time (3+ days)
other than stool cultures, what diagnostic tests might you use?
- electrolyte/chemistry panels
- CBC as needed
- PCR, fluorescent antibodies, direct isolation of organism.
What is the purpose of Culture and sensitivity testing?
collect specimen to reproduce in culture medium to test for susceptibility to antibiotics.
What organism is the culture and sensitivity test typically used for?
Bacteria (sometimes yeast, fungi, viruses)
When taking cultures for sensitivity testing, what do you need to consider when running the test?
- media types
- may require multiple cultures at multiple sites
- ensure sterile collection
T/F : A negative result on a culture/sensitivity test rules out an infection? Why?
F.
May not have collected a sufficient amount for culture to grow, pt may have more than 1 infection
T/F : Treatment is usually required for enteric illnesses?
F.
Most enteric diseases are self-limited. Some may require treatment to eliminate esp if communicable.
