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Diseases Commons™

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2015

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Articles 211 - 240 of 668

Full-Text Articles in Diseases

Chikungunya Virus: More Than A Mosquito Bite, Abigail Shaw Jul 2015

Chikungunya Virus: More Than A Mosquito Bite, Abigail Shaw

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Chikungunya fever is a viral infection caused by the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Although seldom fatal, CHIKV causes high fevers, polyarthralgia, and rash. The mosquito-borne virus has spread rapidly in the last ten years, causing over three million cases of CHIKV worldwide (Powers, 2015). The recent outbreak initiated in Africa and the islands of the Indian Ocean in 2004 has quickly spread to Asia, Europe and the Americas (CDC, 2015). According to the CDC (2015), until 2014, cases in the United States had only been linked to foreign travel outside of the Americas. As the outbreak has grown, cases of local …

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Identifying Acute Organ Dysfunction As A Marker Of Severe Sepsis, Daniell Mcsweeney Jul 2015

Identifying Acute Organ Dysfunction As A Marker Of Severe Sepsis, Daniell Mcsweeney

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

The current definition of sepsis is suspected or documented infection plus at least one systemic manifestation of infection. Severe sepsis has been defined as sepsis plus evidence of organ dysfunction. Identifying acute organ dysfunction is a marker of severe sepsis. This topic was chosen after witnessing a number a patients fall into septic shock before severe sepsis was diagnosed and treatment initiated. Diagnosis of severe sepsis is important for specific protocol to be implemented in a timely fashion. The current differentiation between sepsis and severe sepsis is evidence of organ dysfunction. There are many examples of organ dysfunction that are …

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Raising Awareness: Polycystic Kidney Disease, Dana Dendinger Jul 2015

Raising Awareness: Polycystic Kidney Disease, Dana Dendinger

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

A young male patient was recently admitted to the intensive care unit at a local hospital with hypertensive urgency and acute renal failure of unknown etiology. A renal ultrasound showed polycystic kidneys and upon further investigation, it was discovered that the patient’s mother passed away last year from end stage renal failure related to polycystic kidney disease (PKD). The aforementioned case and the recent study into inherited disorders are what prompted further investigation into PKD. Liebau and Serra (2013) explain that “inherited cystic kidney diseases, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD), are the …

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Insulin Resistance Due To Obesity, Chasity Crist Jul 2015

Insulin Resistance Due To Obesity, Chasity Crist

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Diabetes is defined as a common metabolic disorder where hyperglycemia or elevated glucose levels are prevalent (Shah & Vella, 2014). The most common form of diabetes is type two diabetes (T2DM) and effects around 9.3% of the population in the United States (Cornell, 2015, p. 631). The pathophysiology of this disease includes involvement from the pancreas, liver, skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, gastrointestinal tract, brain, and kidneys. Hyperglycemia is high blood sugar levels that effects multiple organs (Rymaszewski & Breakwell, 2013). Protocols are developed to allow nurses to identify and treat hyper/hypoglycemia. Patient education is a direct impact of the long …

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Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, April Britton Jul 2015

Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, April Britton

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is one of the most common epilepsies of childhood (Korff, Nordli, & Eichler, 2014). JME typically occurs in otherwise healthy teenagers, and is characterized by one or more of the following seizure types: myoclonic jerks, generalized tonic clonic seizures, and absence seizures (Korff, Nordli, & Eichler, 2014). JME is thought to have genetically mediated factors (Park, Shahid, & Jammoul, 2015). JME is considered to be gender equal (Korff, Nordli, & Eichler, 2014). Most JME patients are diagnosed between 12 and 18 years of age (Korff, Nordli, & Eichler, 2014). Triggers linked to onset of seizure activity …

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Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura, Ann Oliva Jul 2015

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura, Ann Oliva

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Patients with Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura, or TTP, are often times seen in the emergency department and subsequently admitted to the inpatient or the critical care unit. The problems that TTP patients can present with vary greatly and astute nursing assessment plus knowledge of the pathophysiology behind the diagnosis is vital to deliver excellent nursing care. Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura or TTP is a rare but potentially fatal condition that occurs as result of decreased levels of ADAMTS-13, a cleaving protease for von Willebrand factor (vWF), which causes platelet aggregation and microvascular thrombi and subsequent end-organ damage, along with thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, …

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Nonimmune Hydrops Fetalis, Heather Walker Jul 2015

Nonimmune Hydrops Fetalis, Heather Walker

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Hydrops fetalis is an excessive accumulation of fluid within the fetal extravascular compartments and body cavities generally characterized by: •placental enlargement •ascites •pericardial effusions •pleural effusions (Bellini, 2014, p. 1082). Nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) develops as a result of one or more nonimmune factors, distinguishing it from immune hydrops fetalis that results from a maternal antigen-body fetal antigen-mediated red blood cell hemolysis (Randenberg, 2010, p. 281).

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Malignant Hyperthermia, Hailey Jones Jul 2015

Malignant Hyperthermia, Hailey Jones

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

According to the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States (2015), “Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially fatal, inherited disorder usually associated with the administration of certain general anesthetics and/or the drug succinylcholine.” Malignant hyperthermia has been presented to me during hospital skills days over the past year due to the increased need for knowledge regarding this topic. I choose this topic because I find it interesting due to the fact that I could encounter this in the remainder of my days in the intensive care unit, but most importantly because I will be dealing with these drugs on a …

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Type Ii Diabetes And Its Treatment, Gregory Mountain Jul 2015

Type Ii Diabetes And Its Treatment, Gregory Mountain

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Approximately 28.9 million Americans have been diagnosed with type II diabetes (Jia-Haur Hu, Lin, Miller, Nguyen, & Nguyen, 2014). It is a disease that can cause or potentiate numerous comorbidities that negatively affects multiple body systems if left untreated (Jia-Haur Hu, et al., 2014). In 2012, the total estimated cost for treatment of type II diabetes in America was an astronomical $245 billion (Jia-Haur Hu, et al., 2014). Type II diabetes is a result of many cellular processes that lead to insulin resistance resulting in increased blood glucose levels (Jia-Haur Hu, et al., 2014). Treatments for type II diabetes include …

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Acute Immune Thrombocytopenia Purpura, Erin Woodworth Jul 2015

Acute Immune Thrombocytopenia Purpura, Erin Woodworth

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), formerly known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, is a relatively rare, but potentially life threatening autoimmune disorder that involves the destruction of platelets by autoantibodies. The resultant decreased platelet count leaves the patient at risk for excessive bruising and bleeding (Hunt, 2010). ITP can occur in both adults and children, and also occurs as an acute or chronic disorder. It is thought that the cause of acute ITP may differ from that of chronic ITP, however, the underlying disease processes that occur are very similar (Johnsen, 2012). Acute ITP, the most common form of the disease, most …

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Malignant Hyperthermia: A Clinical Crisis, Eric Reing Jul 2015

Malignant Hyperthermia: A Clinical Crisis, Eric Reing

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Malignant hyperthermia, though uncommon, is a serious and life threatening condition. Malignant hyperthermia is an autosomal dominant disorder that affects skeletal muscle. It can be caused by various general anesthetic agents like succinylcholine and several inhaled anesthetics. Malignant hyperthermia is a relevant topic to certified registered nurse anesthetists due to the potentially fatal result if not recognized and treated promptly. In understanding the pathophysiology, risk factors, signs and symptoms, epidemiology, and current treatments the health care provider can help to prevent complications due to this disorder (Nagelhout, 2014).

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Gout As A Significant Risk Factor For Cardiovascular Disease: A Case Study, Emily Leonhard Jul 2015

Gout As A Significant Risk Factor For Cardiovascular Disease: A Case Study, Emily Leonhard

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Gout, an inflammatory arthritis caused by elevated serum uric acid levels, is emerging as a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recently, a nurse practitioner (NP) was caring for a patient who was suffering from a particularly severe gout attack while being treated in the ICU for new onset Atrial Fibrillation. The patient reported that he had never had an attack this severe before. He asked the NP if his history of gout could be related to his recent heart problems. The nurse practitioner, in order to answer the patient’s question, spent time researching the disease process of gout, …

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Antithyroid Drug-Induced Agranulocytosis, Elizabeth Spears Jul 2015

Antithyroid Drug-Induced Agranulocytosis, Elizabeth Spears

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

We live in a culture that is busy and constantly on the go. With little time to spare, often symptoms of an alteration in bodily function are pushed to the side and attribute to the stress of everyday life. With symptoms including nausea, fatigue, weight loss, nervousness, and irritability, one may be more inclined to disregard these symptoms, only to attribute them to effects of a busy lifestyle. The presentation of the previously listed symptoms can formulate a medical diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. According to the American Thyroid Association, 20 million Americans will develop some type of alteration in thyroid function …

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Deep Venous Thrombosis In Surgical Orthopedic Patients, Kelly Marsh Jul 2015

Deep Venous Thrombosis In Surgical Orthopedic Patients, Kelly Marsh

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

•The term venous thromboembolism (VTE) is defined as a syndrome that collectively comprises both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Each year approximately 350,000-900,000 people in the United States develop VTE and approximately 100,000 people die according to this cause (Streiff et al., 2014). Unfortunately, the reoccurrence rate for VTE remains very high, with an estimated risk of 10%-30% of VTE patients will develop another VTE within five years of the first incident (Streiff et al., 2014). •Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is blood clot that forms in a large vein, usually in areas of slow blood flow such …

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Understanding Hereditary Hemochromatosis, Kari Davidson Jul 2015

Understanding Hereditary Hemochromatosis, Kari Davidson

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

One of the most common genetic diseases, hereditary hemochromatosis is a disruption of iron regulation in the body. Its geographic distribution is worldwide, but it is most common in those of northern European origin. (Roach and Di Palma, 2012). Occurrence is rare in other racial or ethnic groups. (Emanuele, Tuason, & Edwards, 2014). Symptoms are due to significant iron overload, normally as a result of HFE gene mutation. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). The HFE gene plays an important role in regulating iron absorption in the GI tract, transport, and storage. (Emanuele, et al., 2014). If excess iron …

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Autoimmune Thyroiditis: A Look Into Hashimoto’S Disease, Jessica Hannan Jul 2015

Autoimmune Thyroiditis: A Look Into Hashimoto’S Disease, Jessica Hannan

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Thyroid disease is a general term utilized to describe a variety of conditions affecting the thyroid gland, including hypothyroidism, the deficient production of thyroid hormone; hyperthyroidism, the excess production of thyroid hormone; and goiter, the physiologic swelling of the thyroid gland (Cihakova, 2001; Warren, 2014). Primary hypothyroidism is the most prevalent thyroid disease in the United States, most frequently occurring as a result of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, specifically Hashimoto’s Disease (Warren, 2014). Hashimoto’s disease (HD), also known as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and human autoimmune thyroiditis, was named after Hakaru Hashimoto, a Japanese medical scientist who first described the condition in 1912 …

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Lyme Disease, Jared Hostetler Jul 2015

Lyme Disease, Jared Hostetler

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Lyme disease is the most common vector borne illness found in the United States. Each year 30,000 people are diagnosed with the disease, with many more cases going unreported (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). The vector responsible for spreading the disease is the deer tick. The infection itself is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. This bacteria is transmitted through the saliva from the bite of a deer tick. Diagnosis can be challenging due to the fact that multiple systems of the body can be affected with different severities. Early diagnosis and treatment is critical in the prevention …

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Lyme Disease: A Tick’S Risky Bite, Jana Keller Jul 2015

Lyme Disease: A Tick’S Risky Bite, Jana Keller

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection transmitted primarily by the deer tick and is commonly seen in the United States. It is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is a spirochete (Pearson, 2014). Lyme disease’s prevalence is confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions whom estimates that 30,000 people per year are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the Unites States (Moore, 2015). It is imperative that primary health care workers (such as Nurse Practitioners) are familiar with this disease and the early signs and symptoms. If early signs and symptoms go unnoticed or misdiagnosed …

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Multiple Myeloma, Matthew Crowley Jul 2015

Multiple Myeloma, Matthew Crowley

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Multiple myeloma a rare and largely incurable malignant disease the affects the plasma cells. (Bilotti, Gleason, McNeill, and the International Myeloma Foundation Nurse Leadership Board, 2011). Understanding the pathophysiology of Multiple Myeloma (MM) and treatment options in Oncology and Hematology nursing can be difficult. It is the goal of this poster to outline the pathophysiology, prognosis, treatment options available to multiple myeloma patients. Multiple myeloma accounts for about 10% of hematologic malignancies in the U.S. (Kuo, Fenves, Mehta, 2011). MM is the second most common hematologic malignancy with twenty-four thousand new MM cases each year (Bianchi, and Anderson, 2014 )

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What You Need To Know About Hiv/Aids, Lauren Mcclain Jul 2015

What You Need To Know About Hiv/Aids, Lauren Mcclain

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Thirty years ago, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was recognized as the cause of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Since that time, HIV/AIDS continues to be an ongoing problem worldwide. Even with persistent public heath campaigns and advancements in antiretroviral therapy, HIV/AIDS remains a major cause of global morbidity and mortality (Aggleton, Yankah, & Crewe, 2011). Although the annual number of new HIV/AIDS infections has remained stable, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS has continued increased. In the United States alone, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1,201,100 people are living with HIV infection, in …

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Chikungunya Virus: A Case Study Of The Emerging Vector-Borne Disease, Lindsay D. Sullivan Jul 2015

Chikungunya Virus: A Case Study Of The Emerging Vector-Borne Disease, Lindsay D. Sullivan

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has spread like a wildfire in the Americas. Since its emergence in Sub-Saharan Africa as early at the 18th century, CHIKV has caused many isolated outbreaks in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Over the last decade, the vector-borne disease has inflicted millions of people on islands in the Indian Ocean, India, and now the Americas with the aid of viral mutations and international travel (Weaver and Lecuit, 2015). The first case of local CHIKV transmission in the Western Hemisphere was fairly recent. On the island of St. Martin in October 2013, an individual carrying an Asian …

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Tuberculosis, Lindsay Mackey Jul 2015

Tuberculosis, Lindsay Mackey

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and mostly affects the lungs and sometimes other organs such as the kidneys, spine, and brain (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). In 2013, the CDC (2015) estimated that approximately 9 million people were infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis worldwide and approximately 1.5 million deaths were a result of TB. Tuberculosis is an airborne infection which can be spread through the air from an infected individuals cough, sneeze, or speech. Individuals infected with TB can either have latent or active stage. Latent TB is when an individual becomes infected …

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Syphilis ‘The Great Imitator’, Leslie Gompf Jul 2015

Syphilis ‘The Great Imitator’, Leslie Gompf

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, which is seen in many different patient populations, is on the rise in the United States. According to Chan et al. (2015), “In 2012, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) reported 68 cases of infectious syphilis, a 300% increase from 2006. This trend is observed across the country.” More recently if you live in the Columbus area you may have seen an increasing number of billboards focused directly on testing for sexually transmitted diseases and markedly focused on syphilis. Syphilis can affect patient populations across genres, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Which in turn makes …

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Diabetic Gastroparesis, Noreen Burris Welch Jul 2015

Diabetic Gastroparesis, Noreen Burris Welch

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

According to the 2014 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 9.3% of the United States Population have diabetes (National diabetes statistics report, “2014, p.1). One of the complications of diabetes is gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is “a delay in the emptying of ingested food in the absence of mechanical obstruction of the stomach or duodenum ‘’ (Koch & Calles-Escandon, 2015, p. 40). Mortality in the diabetic patient with gastroparesis is higher than the diabetic patient without gastroparesis (Koch & Calles-Escandon, 2015). Patients with either type 1 diabetes (T1DM) or type 2 diabetes (T2DM) may experience he clinical symptoms of early satiety, prolonged fullness, …

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Sepsis & Emergency Management, Sharon Herndon Jul 2015

Sepsis & Emergency Management, Sharon Herndon

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection and a leading cause of death in the United States (Cawcutt & Peters, 2014). Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) to invading microorganisms. Sagy, Al-Qaquu, and Kim (2013) define sepsis in three categories. “Sepsis” would be defined as the presence of infection along with other general systemic signs and symptoms. “Severe Sepsis” would be defined as sepsis complicated by at least one organ dysfunction, and “Septic Shock” would be defined as severe sepsis with acute circulatory failure that may be characterized by persistent arterial hypotension unexplained by other causes. …

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What You Need To Know About Malignant Hyperthermia, Regan C. Siegman Jul 2015

What You Need To Know About Malignant Hyperthermia, Regan C. Siegman

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

The first case of malignant hyperthermia (MH) that can be identified dates back to the 1960s when a patient with a known familial history of anesthesia complications demonstrated tachycardia, increased body temperature and hypotension following induction of anesthesia. After this incident, clinicians described MH as an increased metabolic state that has a range of signs associated with induction of inhaled anesthetics (Seifert, Wahr, Pace, Cochrane, & Bagnola, 2014). MH is a serious, life-threatening reaction that occurs after being exposed to certain inhaled and local anesthetics. Some of the inhaled volatile anesthetic agents that can trigger MH include halothane, sevoflurane, desflurane …

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Dermatitis Herpetiformis, Rachel Wolf Jul 2015

Dermatitis Herpetiformis, Rachel Wolf

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

The main sign that accompanies DH is the eruption of intensely pruritic papulovesical lesions that typically present bilaterally on the elbows, knees, buttocks, neck, and scalp (Criado et al., 2012). They may appear on the upper back, abdomen, groin, and face as well. The lesions are small blisters that resemble those that are caused by the herpes simplex virus. By the time a patient seeks evaluation by a care provider, the lesions have often been scratched so much as to cause erosions, excoriation, and or crusted papules (Junkins-Hopkins, 2010). The surrounding area may have erythema and or urticarial plaques. Patients …

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Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar State: A Diabetic Emergency, Rachel Fisher Jul 2015

Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar State: A Diabetic Emergency, Rachel Fisher

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS) is an acute complication associated with diabetes mellitus. HHS has been known by several other names in the past. These labels include Hyperosmolar Nonketotic Coma, Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic Nonketotic Coma, and Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Nonketotic Syndrome (Hackel, 2014). HHS is characterized by severe hyperglycemia, profound dehydration, and is often accompanied by altered mental status. Less than 1% of diabetes-related admissions are due to HHS, but mortality rates are estimated to be 10% to 20% (Lenahan & Holloway, 2015). HHS typically affects the older adult population, with the average age of HHS patients being 60 years (Collopy, Kivlehan, & …

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The Pathophysiology Of Sepsis, Rachel Hamilton Jul 2015

The Pathophysiology Of Sepsis, Rachel Hamilton

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Sepsis is still a leading cause of hospital admissions and often leads to death if not identified early and treated properly (Pilcher, Cooper & Bellomo, 2015). In the US there are approximately 200,000 deaths annually due to sepsis (Puskarich, Illich, & Jones, 2014). It is important for advance practice nurses to recognize risk factors for sepsis. By understanding the pathophysiology of sepsis nurse practitioners will be able to recognize early signs and symptoms of this inflammatory disease process and implement early medical management. Early medical treatment in septic patients is crucial to increase patient survival rates.

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Congenital Cytomegalovirus (Cmv), Patty Fleming Jul 2015

Congenital Cytomegalovirus (Cmv), Patty Fleming

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common herpes virus infection that is usually harmless and belongs to a group of herpes viruses that includes the herpes simplex viruses, varicella-zoster virus (which causes chickenpox and shingles), and the Epstein-Barr virus (which causes infectious mononucleosis). Once CMV is in a person's body, it stays there throughout their life. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). CMV is shed in various bodily secretions, especially urine and saliva (Congenital Cytomegalovirus Foundation, 2014). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of otherwise healthy children and adults infected with CMV are asymptomatic while …

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