Case Summary
On the evening of October 27, 2022, the male patient was admitted to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. His main complaints were bloating, sickness, frequent bowel movements, and high body temperature. It was mentioned that the patient had been experiencing those symptoms for several hours before arriving at the hospital. To lessen the discomfort from the initial abdominal pain, he took Ibuprofen, the painkiller, and when he discovered that he had a fever, he also had an antipyretic pill, Paracetamol.
When asked about his history of medical illnesses, the patient said that he had lactose intolerance. However, taken at his word, he did not have any milk-containing products in his diet and was following a healthy diet, as he is trying to stay fit. Nonetheless, the patient admitted that despite keeping a sporty lifestyle, he had a tobacco smoking habit, along with occasional drinking, that helped him cope with stress at work.
All patients’ immunizations, including those for rotavirus, are current. He did not have any abdominal surgeries, antibiotics, cancer drugs, or antacids containing magnesium before hospitalization. The patients had not experienced allergic reactions to medications. As for heredity, the patient mentioned that he did not know if any of his relatives had gastrointestinal problems.
Diagnostic Tests and Procedures
After listing all of the patient’s complaints and his medical history, my presumptive diagnosis was inflammatory diarrhea. Fallon & Alic (2018) define this disease as “an abnormal increase in the frequency and liquidity of stools (bowel movements), typically defined as passing loose, watery stools three or more times per day” (p. 1145). This disease is common among adults, with 179 million outpatient visits and 500,000 hospitalizations in the US annually (Meisenheimer et al., 2022). Usually, diarrhea can pass on its own within several hours or days. However, diagnostic tests must be undertaken to diagnose the type and, consequently, its cause.
After collecting the patient’s stool samples and examining them, the diagnosis of inflammatory diarrhea was proven since Campylobacter and Yersinia species, characteristic of the disease, were detected (Fallon & Alic, 2018). Further stool analysis was not conducted to find parasites, as the patient only had diarrhea for several hours. However, a colonoscopy and blood test of the patient were conducted to see if the diarrhea was of infectious cause.
Treatment and Prognosis
Metamucil, an anti-diarrheal agent, was prescribed for the treatment of diarrhea. This medication adds bulk to the stool and relieves the most disturbing symptoms (Anti-diarrheal Medicines: OTC Relief for Diarrhea). Painkillers were not prescribed to the patient since he had already taken them before being admitted to the hospital. Antibiotics were not prescribed to the patient in the absence of need.
Additionally, the patient was asked to drink more water and avoid dairy products, high-fiber, high-fat, and high-sugar foods, alcohol, and caffeine for the recovery period (Fallon & Alic, 2018). For the next day, the patient was recommended to consume small portions of food, mostly soft, like rice, bananas, toast, or tea; thus, he would not stress his digestive system. Following this nutrition advice, diarrhea is usually expected to go away within several hours to a day.
Recommendations for Lifestyle Changes
Since the most common cause of diarrhea is a virus, patients should pay more attention to personal hygiene and always wash their hands or use alcohol-based sanitizers after visiting restrooms or public spaces. Moreover, the patient should be more careful with the quality and the readiness of his food. In the future, he should not skip rotavirus vaccination and adhere to his lactose-free diet. Additionally, he should consider quitting smoking and drinking and try to avoid stress since these factors negatively affect the digestive system.
References
Anti-diarrheal Medicines: OTC Relief for Diarrhea. (2022). familydoctor. NA. Web.
Fallon, L. F., Jr., & Alic, M., PhD. (2018). Diarrhea. In J. L. Longe (Ed.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health (4th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 1145-1149). Gale. Web.
Meisenheimer, E. S., Epstein, C., & Thiel, D. (2022). Acute Diarrhea in Adults. American Family Physician, 106(1), 72+. Web.