Running Head: MONONOSPOT 1

Monospot

Student’s name

Instructional affiliation
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Description of monospot

Monospot is a healthcare assessment tool mainly used to test infectious mononucleosis,

particularly in adults. Thus it is an effective heterophile antibody test. The monospot test is

effective and comprehensive in detecting and determining the level of mononucleosis heterophile

antibodies (Ceraulo & Bytomski, 2019). The Epstein-Barr virus causes infectious mononucleosis

and is a self-limited and acute disease. An Epstein-Barr virus may not present any signs or

symptoms to the patient, although it is common. The virus is mainly transmitted from one person

to the other through kissing.

There are various symptoms associated with mononucleosis, such as loss of appetite and

body rashes. The patient can also experience headaches and body aches: The other prominent

symptoms are swollen glands in the armpits and neck. Monospot is usually common among

young adults and teenagers. The monospot test is conducted 4 to 6 weeks after an individual

contracts the virus and once the symptoms have developed. The virus is not life-threatening, but

the early intervention enables the patient to get better healthcare outcomes than an individual

who fails to access early medication.

The purpose of the monospot test

The test's main purpose is to ascertain and confirm whether a person is suffering from the

Epstein-Barr virus or not. The test's purpose is to detect the heterophile antibodies that are

defective. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) destroys the immune system of the patient. Therefore, the

test's purpose is to assess the red blood cells that the virus may compromise. Atypical

lymphocytes characterize mononucleosis. More than ninety percent of people with infectious are
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more likely to present heterophile antibodies. The test also aims to ascertain the effects of the

virus on other organs in the body. For instance, if the virus is not treated within the first five

months after the first sign and symptoms, it is important to note that it may enlarge at one's

spleen or the liver, thus creating more complications.

The spleen and the liver enlargement may compromise one’s ability to participate in sport

and other physical activities. The other main purpose of the test is to determine the level of

inherited x-linked lymph-proliferative (XLP) syndrome immunodeficiency since it can lead to

severe effects on the immune system.

How does it conduct

The test is conducted by a professional healthcare worker, ideally four to six weeks after

a person starts portraying mononucleosis flu-like symptoms. The healthcare professional worker

workers take a blood sample from a vein from the back of the hand or elbow. Sometimes the test

requires a blood sample from a finger-prick test. It is not easy to identify some veins in some

people, and due to this reason, a healthcare provider wraps the arm of the patient to make the

blood fill on the blood. When the tube contains the required blood, the healthcare worker

withdraws the need and covers the puncture with a bandage.

The blood sample is taken in the laboratory, mixed with other substances to make it

possible for the lab technician to view the blood through the microscope. If the blood starts

clumping, the patient is considered suffering from mononucleosis. Another more advanced

testing can be incorporated since the monospot may show slow antibodies if the patient suffers
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from other diseases such as cancer, systemic lupus erythematosus, rubella, leukemia, and

hepatitis (Chen, Song, Liu, Zheng & Chen, 2021).

What information does monospot gather?

There are various information that is gathered due to monospot test evaluation. The result

can either be positive or negative. For instance, if the result is positive, the healthcare

professional is more likely to determine whether the virus has more complications or not in other

organs. Immediately the Epstein-Barr virus attacks a person; there is a tendency that a person

may produce more white blood cells and antibodies trying to eliminate the virus from the body.

Therefore, the monospot test is more likely to test negative for the virus. Therefore, the test is

will gather information about the level of white blood cells and antibodies.

The test will gather information on whether the virus test is very early to test for the

virus. A patient is more likely to be advised to consider the next test if the healthcare

professional notice a high level of white blood cells and antibodies, but the patient has signs and

symptoms of the virus. The other information gathered is the appropriate time to consider

repeating the virus test if the first test is negative.

Evaluation

The article written by Guzman & Guzman (2018) indicated that there are many types of

the monospot test used to detect various viruses. The report indicates that tests assessments tools

such as sandwich ELISA and monospot test are not reliable in providing accurate information

about a virus. The authors indicate that the monospot requires confirmation for two-dimensional
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techniques and western blot analysis. In this assignment is noted that monospot assessment tool

may not detect Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)

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References

Ceraulo, A. S., & Bytomski, J. R. (2019). Infectious mononucleosis management in

athletes. Clinics in Sports Medicine, 38(4), 555-561.

Chen, T., Song, J., Liu, H., Zheng, H., & Chen, C. (2021). Positive Epstein–Barr virus detection

in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1-7.

Guzman, N. A., & Guzman, D. E. (2018). From a central laboratory to the bedside: A point-of-

care instrument to monitoring wellness and disease using two-dimensional immunoaffinity

capillary electrophoresis technology. Archiv. Biomed. Res, 1(1).