Beware Of Blood!

By:Faith Efada

David HernandezZenona Hammond

Case StudyA young male patient, who has just returned from 2 years of service in the Peace Corps in Brazil, presents at his primary care physician with fever, chest pain, breathlessness, and a distended abdomen. He was in a car accident about 6 months ago, while on active duty, and received a blood transfusion in a local Rio de Janeiro hospital. The physician refers him to the hospital where he is admitted for observation. A chest X-ray shows both hepatosplenomegaly and heart enlargement and an EKG shows a systolic murmur. The patient does not remember being bitten by anything during his time in the Peace Corps, as all Peace Corps volunteers were advised by their commanding officers to use netting and insect repellents and to remain "covered up" whenever possible. The patient has also had no sexual intercourse over the past 6 months. The patient died 2 years later from heart damage caused by the hemoflagellate trypanosomal protozoa infecting him.

Diagnosis

• Hepatitis • Rheumatic Fever

(Anderson)• African Sleeping

Sickness• Chagas’ Disease• Bacterial Infection• Alcoholism• Asthma• Airborne Allergies• Internal injury

– Due to Accident

1. Chagas’ Disease2. African Sleeping

Sickness3. Rheumatic Fever

1. Bacterial infection (Anderson)

4. Hepatitis 1. B or C (Anderson)

5. Alcoholism

What to Do?

• Questionsa) Where have you traveled? (Excluding Brazil)

b) Have you had any recent or recurrent infections?

c) How sever was your accident?a) Where there any internal injuries?

d) Are you an Alcoholic?

e) Have you been tested for Hepatitis?

Test Performed

• Throat Culture

• Blood Test

• Blood Smear

(Atlas)

What do you have?

• Chagas’ Disease• Trypanosoma cuzi

– Background Info• Symptoms

– Questions – Test– Location

(Atlas)

How?

• Two ways of contracting1) “Kissing” bug

2) Blood Transfusion

(Atlas)

Treatment

• Acute– Benznidazole

• Nifurtimox

• Chronic– Not Good

• Heart and Intestinal

Prognosis

• Chronic • Death

(Medline)

Prevention

• Screening of blood• Control of vector population

(Oates)

Work Cited

• Anderson, Douglas. Mosby’s Medical Dictionary. St. Louis: Mosby’s Inc., 2002

• Atlas of Medical Parasatology. Tripanosoma cruzi (Chagas’ Diesase). Carlo Denegri Foundation. 14 March 2006. <http://www.cdfound.to.it/HTML/trip1.htm>

• Bauman, Robert. Microbiology: Alternate Edition with Diseases by Body System. San Francisco: Pearson Education Inc., 2006

• Medline Plus. “Medical Encyclopedia: Chagas’ Disease.” 7 March 2006. http://nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/print/ency/article/001372.htm

• Oates, Daniel. Untitled (Pest Control, Bob). 15 March 2006. <http://www.artregister.com/seavest_collection/oates_bob.html>