Case Study Viral Hepatis Background D.H. is a 52-year-old white male with no significant past medical history, except for a severe bout of cholecystitis seven years ago that resolved following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. He states that he has been healthy until three weeks ago, when he noticed some fatigue and weakness. He does not recall a past history of liver problems. 8. Pathophysiology and most common signs and symptoms: Viral Hepatitis can be transmitted via fecal-oral contact or contact with infected bloody and body fluids (Braun & Anderson, 2017). Fecal-oral transmission occurs with hand contact with infected feces encountering the oral mucosa (Braun & Anderson, 2017). Once a person is infected with hepatitis it can lead to acute or chronic disease (Braun & Anderson, 2017). Common signs and symptoms: - “A period of fatigue, anorexia, malaise, headache, low-grade fever, jaundice, dark urine, and clay-colored stools,” (Braun & Anderson, 2017, p. 121). 9. Explain the pathophysiologic and anatomic features involved. - Pathophysiologic features are viral antibodies causing fatigue and weakness and elevated liver enzymes. - An anatomic feature is the liver. 10. What are the predisposing conditions and risk factors in the case study? - Genetics- There are no predisposing and risk factors involving the patient’s genetics. - Gender- There are no predisposing and risk factors involving the patient’s gender. - Ethnicity- There are no predisposing and risk factors involving the patient’s ethnicity. - Age- There are no predisposing and risk factors involving the patient’s age. - Behavior- The only risk factors involving the patient’s behavior would be having sexual intercourse with someone with a sexually transmitted infection (STI), having tattoos, getting blood transfusions, and history of IV drug use (Bruyere, 2009). 11. List discriminating features you would find in the history and physical exam compared to the patient in the case study. - The discriminating features would be the patient having tattoos, history of IV drug use, history of blood transfusion, fatigue and weakness, and elevated liver enzymes (Buyere, 2009). 12. Define key diagnostics related to the diagnosis. AST 142 IU/L Hct 40.7% Bilirubin total Urine color 1.5mg/DL Dark yellow HCV RNA ALT Alk Phos 2.7 million copies/mL 120 IU/L 178 IU/L AFP 14ng/ML Protein, total 5.6g/DL Can be caused by liver issues Insufficient oxygen circulating in the body. Urine dark yellow Bilirubin and a symptom of Hepatitis High viral load Live problem. Blockage of flow in biliary tract or pressure buildup in the liver. Chronic viral hepatitis. Maybe a consequence of liver problem. 13. Patient teaching: - The patient teaching would involve the following: teaching proper hand washing technique, teaching about sexual contact, teaching him about sanitation with tattoos, discussing a low-fat diet with the patient, and instructing him to take his medication as prescribed. 14. Are there possible barriers? - There are no possible barriers to the learning process. Facilitators? - I would facilitate patient teaching by demonstrating proper safety techniques to avoid viral hepatitis and I would have refer him to a dietary specialist to discuss a good diet plan for him.