Question

This is a respiratory case study

Patient Profile:

Gladys Young is a 68 year old female that resides in an Independent Living facility with her husband. She presents to her primary care physicians office with complaints of fever, chills, nausea and vomiting. She also states that she has had some mild hemoptysis occasionally with her persistent coughing. She has recently completed treatment with Chemotherapy for Breast cancer and is concerned that she may have an infection. You are the nurse caring for her.

You complete the following assessment:

Subjective Data:

She is able to complete a sentence in its entirety, but she is persistently coughing during the history. She is a former smoker, she smoked ½ pack of cigarettes per day for 30 years and quit when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 6 months ago. She denies shortness of breath or chest tightness. She has not yet gotten her influenza vaccine, but did receive the Pneumovax vaccine last year. She has had problems with persistent coughing at night which has prevented her from getting a good night’s sleep for the past two weeks. She also states that she has been waking up soaked in sweat in the morning.

Objective Data:

 Temp – 38.6 C; HR – 132 beats/min; RR—28; BP – 168/87; O2 sat – 90% on Room Air

 Auscultation: Lungs with faint crackles at bases bilaterally. No wheezing present.

 Patient is flushed and warm to touch.

The patient diagnosis is Tuberculosis. Please answer the following question.

What complications do you want to be aware of if the disorder is not appropriately treated?

Answer 1

If disorder is not appropriately treated as diagnosis is pulmonary tuberculosis , untreated condition can lead to tuberculosis can spread via blood to other organ such as brain causing TB meningitis , and in lungs can cause complications such as bronchiectasis , pulmonary destruction, malignancy , chronic pulmonary aspergillosis.

Spine pain , back pain , joint pain as may cause tuberculosis arthritis usually affects knees and hips . Also heart disorders can occur due to untreated tuberculosis.

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