Job sheets

CASE ANALYSIS: ANALYZE THE FOLLOWING CASES THAT ARE RELATED IN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM THEN ANSWER
THE QUESTIONS FOR DEEPER UNDERSTANDING.
SITUATION: You are an ER doctor that is working the night shift and are presented with several patients over the course of
your shift. Your job is report out at the end of the shift with your findings, including information about each of the patients
you have seen. With every case study, there are questions that need answering in order for you to educate the next shift.

CASE NUMBER 1. Sarah, a twenty-one year old student at College of the Immaculate Conception had spent Thanksgiving
day with relatives at her grandparent’s farm. During her drive back to campus on Friday morning her vision became blurry,
and she was forced to pull over to the side of the road. As she sat in her car, her vision worsened. She opened the car hood
in hope of attracting aid and tried to relax. In a short time, a highway patrol officer pulled over and approached Sarah. By
this time, Sarah was having trouble swallowing and speaking clearly. The officer helped Sarah to his car and rushed her to
the emergency room at a nearby hospital. In the ER, Sarah is able to describe her symptoms to you. You make note of what
Sarah had eaten during the last 24 hours find that Sarah’s grandmother canned all of her own vegetables. Her breathing
then becomes labored. so you order a blood sample, to have her gastrointestinal tract pumped, and prepare a mechanical
respirator just in case. Thinking she may have botulism, you ask that Sarah’s grandparents be contacted and samples of
the Thanksgiving meal retained, if possible, and sent to a local clinic for analysis.

Diagnosis: Botulism

QUESTIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING:

1. What causes botulism?
- Botulism was caused by consuming improperly canned home-canned foods and due to that, it causes bacteria that
releases a neurotoxin, which is a poison that attacks Sarah’s nervous system.

2. What caused the botulism in Sarah’s case? What symptoms did she have that prompted you to think it was botulism?
- In Sarah's case, botulism was caused by the food she ate, which was canned vegetables made by her grandmother.
Moreover, the signs and symptoms that prompted me to think she had botulism were when her vision became blurry and
when she was having trouble swallowing and speaking clearly.

3. What is your treatment for Sarah? What is the mortality rate? What is the primary cause of death in botulism cases?
- The best treatments that I can give to Sarah are injected antitoxins and breathing assistance. Injected antitoxin will help
Sarah to prevent the toxin from causing any more harm. While the breathing assistance will help her relax since she was
having trouble swallowing and difficulty speaking. Furthermore, the mortality rate based on Sarah’s case is 5-10%. The
primary cause of death in botulism cases is the difficulty of breathing.

4. What two organ systems are primarily affected by botulism?

- The two organ systems that are primarily affected by botulism are the muscular system and nervous system

CASE NUMBER 2. Martin and Kim were both twenty-five when they had Michael, their first child. Kim remained very healthy
during her pregnancy and went into labor at 9:00 p.m., just 3 days after her due date. Delivery went quite smoothly, and that
evening, mother and child rested comfortably. Two days later, Kim and Michael were released from the hospital. That
evening at feeding time, Kim noticed that the whites of Michael’s eyes seemed just slightly yellow, a condition that worsened
noticeably by the next morning. Kim decided to bring the newborn into the ER the next evening.

Upon examining Michael you inform Martin and Kim that the infant has neonatal jaundice, a condition quite common in
newborns and one that need not cause them too much concern. You ask that the parents to follow up with Michael’s
pediatrician in order to monitor blood bilirubin concentration until the bilirubin concentration drops into the normal range.

Diagnosis: Jaundice

QUESTIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING:

1. What is jaundice? What is it caused by? Which of Michael’s organs is responsible for this condition?
- Jaundice is a disease in which the skin, whites of the eyes, and mucous membranes turn yellow due to a high level of
bilirubin, a yellow-orange bile pigment. It is caused by a build up of bilirubin, a waste material, in the blood, Infections of the
liver from a virus, and Chronic liver disease.

2. What is the treatment for newborn jaundice?

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- The treatment for newborn jaundice depends on how bad it is and what has caused it but we usually do is the
phototherapy wherein the baby may be placed under a special lamp that emits blue-green light. The light alters the shape
and structure of bilirubin molecules, allowing them to be excreted in both urine and stool.

3. Why did Michael’s skin turn yellow? What normally happens in healthy newborns without jaundice?
- Michael's eyes turn yellow because his body has an excess of bilirubin, a yellow substance formed when red blood cells degrade.
Moreover, because healthy newborns have normal jaundice because they have more blood cells than adults.

References
 Ramos, “General Biology 2”, 2017, Phoenix Publishing House.
 https://study.com/academy/lesson/8-in-biology.html
 http://spot.pcc.edu/~jvolpe/b/bi112/lec/examples/112examplesCh1_Ch3.htm
 https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_human_lesson04
 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/7041-the-structure-and-function-of-the-digestive-system
 https://www.pharmpress.com/files/docs/Pharmacy_Case_Studies_sample.pdf

GENERAL BIOLOGY2 (STEM8 )-MODULE2 8

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GENERAL BIOLOGY2 (STEM8 )-MODULE2 8