In medicine, there are situations when the patient’s life becomes in danger, and simple treatment methods do not fix the problem. In such cases, there is often an element of risk that the doctor strives to avoid. In order to save the patient’s life, he needs to apply specific methods and operations that can have a lot of nuances and side effects. One such life-saving technique is organ transplantation. While this method saves lives worldwide, it has nuances and limitations, such as infectious diseases.
First of all, it will be necessary to note that in organ transplantation, it is essential to assess each patient’s immune system in detail. Insufficient information about the patient to be transplanted can lead to severe consequences and diseases. According to Manuel and Ison (2019), “Attempts to measure the “overall” level of immunosuppression have yielded conflicting results, notably when relying on commercially available assays” (p. 3). The proper study of the features of the immune system will avoid most side effects from organ transplantation, such as infection.
There are different types of infections arising during the transportation of organs. Examples include nosocomial infections, donor-derived infections, and opportunistic infections (Manuel & Ison, 2019). It is essential to understand that many infections occur after transplantation due to the body’s rejection of the new organ. It is worth noting that the emergence of infection is not only accompanied by the failure of the human immune system, but the issue of environmental stress or prevention strategies (Wong, 2020). From this, it can be concluded that literacy in the study of the patient’s body is vital not only before and during the transplantation but after it when the body gets used to the new organ.
Particular attention should be paid to the topic of infectious diseases and epidemiology in the practice of advanced nursing. According to Macha (2011), “epidemiology for advanced nursing practice has integrated epidemiology and clinical nursing concepts to enhance decision-making skills for advanced nursing practice” (p. 5). Detailed consideration of the main characteristics and features in the study of epidemiology will allow nurses to better prepare for possible patient infections. At the same time, one of the critical components of advanced nursing is collecting the necessary information and conducting research on the patient’s body (Macha, 2011). As I wrote earlier, this is crucial both before and after organ transplants. In my opinion, high-quality practice in advanced nursing will reduce the probability of infection.
It is important to note that organ transplantation has recently affected infectious diseases through immunosuppressive drugs. As a result, some microorganisms settle in the patient’s body and cause infection. However, the use of such a method is necessary to maintain essential processes of the human immune system. According to Zeitouni and Samie (2021), “pharmalogic suppression of the host immune system is necessary to avoid rejection, the immunological attack, and destruction of the allograft” (p. 20). Hence, there is a choice between applying immunosuppressive drugs or not. In my view, this issue again raises the importance of thoroughly studying the individual’s immune system. To avoid the appearance of microorganisms, such as cytomegalovirus, it is necessary to understand which species of the immunosuppressive drug will be harmless to the patient.
In conclusion, it should be noted that despite all the risks of getting an infectious disease during and after organ transplantation, a competent examination of the human body and the immune system will minimize the danger. In my opinion, it is necessary to leave the rate on transplantation the same because new limits can significantly restrict this area of medicine. I believe that it would be more effective to upgrade the skills of medical staff and doctors. It will be vital to establish some regulations that regulate the activities of health workers and establish the need for separate processes, such as a thorough examination of each patient’s immune system.
References
Macha, K. (2011). Epidemiology for advanced nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Manuel, O., & Ison, M. G. (2019). Infectious diseases in solid-organ transplant recipients: A practical approach. Springer.
Wong, C. J. (2020). Primary care of the solid organ transplant recipient. Springer Nature.
Zeitouni, N. C., & Samie, F. H. (2021). Dermatology and solid organ transplantation. CRC Press.