Question

2. Janet Green wasn’t careful and cut her left index finger deeply when preparing dinner. She needed several stitches to close the wound. A few days after getting the stitches, she returns to the hospital due to pain spreading from her finger to her hand and arm. When she’s examined, her left index finger and entire hand are swollen with red streaks following the superior aspect of her left forearm. A blood test reveals dangerously low levels of leukocytes, and closer examination shows that she’s deficient in multiple types of lymphocytes. She’s given a prescription for large doses of antibiotics and a sling for her arm.

Using the information above, answer the following questions: (5)

 What do the red streaks emanating from her finger to her arm indicate?

 What do you think the problem could be if the swelling was present without the red streaks?

 Why is it important that Janet keep her arm immobilized—why does she need the sling?

 Do you think that Janet will have any problems during her recovery? Why or why not?

Answer 1

1 . The red streaks emanating from her left finger to her arm indicate the spread of infection from the deep wound that resulted to Janet while preparing dinner.

2 . If there was no red streaks , that indicates localized infection which would heal faster.

3. Immobilization of the hand is necessary to prevent further spread of infection and complications. Therefore, sling is used as a part of immobilization.

4 . Janet requires a large dose of antibiotics as her lymphocyte count is too low and that may cause side effects along with immobilization issues. She is also at risk of thrombophlebitis due to immobilization and also at risk of sepsis, cellulitis. Therefore, Janet has to face alot of problems during her recovery phase.

Thank you.