Case Study Analysis
The case study presents a patient who slipped and an object cut the calf of his right leg. The patient ended up cleaning the cut with water from a garden hose and then covered with a band-aid. Later, the patient experienced intense pain, redness around the cut, and the entire calf had swollen. The main reason why I think the patient experienced the above symptoms is that the water the patient cleaned the cut with had some bacterial infections. In many cases, the water running through a garden hose is not safe enough even for human consumption.
Therefore, the bacteria present in the water from the garden hose came into contact with the soft tissues from the fresh cuts. Any form of bacterial infection on a body opening is called necrotizing fasciitis, and this infection ends up destroying the tissues around the cut (Loo, Kwok, Leung, Wu, Law, Cheung & Ho, 2017). In most cases, such a bacterial infection occurs in people with a weak immune system. If the bacterial infection continues to occur, symptoms such as fever intense pain, and fatigue emerges and these symptoms are among the symptoms the patient experienced. The best approach to handle the cut was that the patient needed to clean the cut continuously with clean running water. Clean water and applying soap around the cut would have minimized the risk of bacterial infection.
Researchers have found that genetic variation is a factor behind the development of bacterial infection of tissues around a fresh cut. Through intensive research, researchers have discovered a variety of genes that can offer protection to patients against severe bacterial infection affecting body tissues (Abualrous, Sticht & Freund, 2021). Also, research shows that some patients have a genetic composition that potentially exposes them to bacterial infection that can cause fast of body tissues. One type of gene that influences bacterial infection of tissues around a cut is the HLA-II gene. The HLA-II genes influence the response of immune inflammation to the proteins on the surface of the fresh tissue. If the response of immune inflammation is fast, a patient is more likely to experience intense symptoms of tissue infection.
Another type of gene that influences bacterial infection of tissues around a fresh cut is the MHC class II genes. The MHC class II plays an important role in preventing the entry of pathogens such as bacteria into the cells that may affect tissues around the wound. The mechanism of MHC class II in the prevention entry of pathogens is that it has thick proteins surrounding the cell (Abualrous, Sticht & Freund, 2021). Therefore, if a patient has an active MHC class II gene, the chances of that patient experiencing bacterial infection around the wound are less.
Immunosuppression is a body condition where the immune system fails to function normally. Immunosuppression cannot only be a result of other body infections but also the presence of certain medications in the body (Kovvuru, Nalleballe, Onteddu, Sharma, Jasti, Kapoor & Roy, 2021). One of the significant impacts of immunosuppression is that it affects the ability of the body to fight disease-causing organisms. One of the major causes of immunosuppression in the human body are conditions such as diabetes, malnutrition, AIDS, genetic infections, and cancer. Another cause of immunosuppression is medication for chronic illnesses such as heart disorders and lung infections.
One of the effects of immunosuppression disorder is as a result of the medication health practitioners use to control the disorder. The side effects of immunosuppression disorder include nausea, vomiting, trembling hands, increased hair growth, and loss of appetite (Kovvuru, Nalleballe, Onteddu, Sharma, Jasti, Kapoor & Roy, 2021). Also, immunosuppression disorder creates long-term effects and an example of a long-term effect is malignancy. Other long-term effects are the emergence of cardiovascular disorders and permanent damage to the bone marrow. However, there are both medical and non-medical interventions for patients having immunosuppression disorder. These interventions aim at resetting the entire immune system to regenerate immunity.
References
Abualrous, E. T., Sticht, J., & Freund, C. (2021). Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II proteins: impact of polymorphism on antigen presentation. Current Opinion in Immunology, 70, 95-104.
Kovvuru, S., Nalleballe, K., Onteddu, S. R., Sharma, R., Jasti, M., Kapoor, N., … & Roy, B. (2021). Immunosuppression in chronic autoimmune neurological disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of the neurological sciences, 420, 117230.
Loo, J. F. C., Kwok, H. C., Leung, C. C. H., Wu, S. Y., Law, I. L. G., Cheung, Y. K., … & Ho, H. P. (2017). Sample-to-answer on molecular diagnosis of bacterial infection using integrated lab-on-a-disc. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 93, 212-219.
