Case Background
A 16-year-old boy presents with a sore throat lasting 3 days and denies fever or chills. His medical history is unremarkable, and he has no known allergies. Physical exam shows a temperature of 99.6°F, normal pulse and respirations, and a reddened posterior pharynx with white tonsillar exudate and cervical adenopathy. A positive rapid strep test leads to a prescription for amoxicillin 500 mg every 12 hours for 10 days. After taking the first dose, he experienced tongue and lip swelling, difficulty breathing, and wheezing. Emergency services were called, and he was hospitalized for an allergic reaction.
The Role of Genetics in the Disease
The patient’s chief complaint is a sore throat, which is common among children and may be provoked by the group A Streptococcal bacterium. At the same time, genetic variations related to similar conditions should be identified because genetic and environmental aspects can affect the patient (Jorde, 2019). Streptococcus pyogenes is a common human pathogen responsible for sore throats in children (Nakata & Kreikemeyer, 2021). Thus, the patient can be susceptible to respiratory diseases due to his genetic history.
Specific Symptoms of the Patient
The presence of such pathogens as group A Streptococcus can be a reason for altered normal responses in the human body cells. The patient has a reddened posterior pharynx with enlarged white exudate on the tonsils. Such clinical manifestations are connected to the increased number of fibronectin-binding proteins from Streptococcus pyogenes (Nakata & Kreikemeyer, 2021). Swelling, difficulty breathing, and vomiting remain the common symptoms of allergy to antibiotics.
Physiologic Response to the Stimulus
In the chosen scenario, several physiologic responses to the stimulus (amoxicillin) are observed. The patient has a reddened pharynx, enlarged tonsils, and positive anterior and posterior cervical adenopathy. Hypersensitivity to antibiotics provokes undesirable effects on the body, which is a normal adaptive or innate response (Soo, 2018). The body needs a strong defensive mechanism, and these reactions are the ways how to fight bacterial infection.
Cells Involved in the Process
Strep throat is a complex process characterized by the involvement of several cells. The most common cells that may be involved include cultured epithelial cells, macrophage cell lines, and white blood cells (neutrophils) (Nakata & Kreikemeyer, 2021). The patient is hypersensitive to amoxicillin (type I), and his anaphylactic response is mediated by IgE antibodies produced by the immune system and bound to mast cells and basophils (Justiz-Vaillant & Zito, 2019). Despite the fact that the boy has no previously reported allergic reactions, the allergens with those cells might have a genetic linkage.
Other Characteristics
The most common characteristic of strep throat is age, including children between 5 and 15 years. In this case, gender would hardly represent a serious risk factor for the condition. However, genetics is another characteristic that might change response because family lineage and history can explain the patient’s vulnerability to group A Streptococcus. Thus, genetic predisposition should be considered to predict inherent allergies, even those not reported earlier.
References
Jorde, L. B. (2019). Genes, environment-lifestyle, and common disease. In K. L. McCance & S. E. Huether (Eds.), Pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children (8th ed., pp. 160-177). Mosby/Elsevier.
Justiz-Vaillant, A. A., & Zito, P. M. (2019). Immediate hypersensitivity reactions. StatPearls. Web.
Nakata, M., & Kreikemeyer, B. (2021). Genetics, structure, and function of group A streptococcal pili. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12. Web.
Soo, P. (2018). Pathophysiology ch 10 alterations in immune function [Video]. YouTube. Web.