Acute Infectious Gastroenteritis Essay
Case Study
My diagnosis for the patient is acute infectious gastroenteritis. This diagnosis is informed mostly by the patient’s presenting symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, a standard indicator of viral gastroenteritis (Stuempfig & Seroy, 2020). The direction of the diagnosis towards viral gastroenteritis is further augmented by the patient’s suspected Hepatitis C case.Acute Infectious Gastroenteritis Essay
Appropriate drug therapy for this patient would assume the form of symptomatic support to maintain the hydration status of the patient and effectively counter fluid and electrolyte losses (Stuempfig & Seroy, 2020). The patient will be put on oral rehydration therapy to counter any dehydration that might ensure. To address his symptoms of nausea and vomiting, an anti-emetic, Ondansetron, will be prescribed. The patient will receive Loperamide 2 milligrams stat to stop diarrhea, and the patient adviced to take another tablet (loperamide 2 mg) if diarrhea ensues.
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Oral rehydration therapy is as effective as intravenous therapy in treating mild to moderate dehydration in acute gastroenteritis (Chow, Leung, & Hon, 2010; Sunderland et al., 2019). It is usually strongly recommended as the first-line therapy for acute gastroenteritis (Chow, Leung, & Hon, 2010; Sunderland et al., 2019) hence the prescription for Mr. Martin. Anti-emetics are not routinely recommended in treating acute gastroenteritis, but they still receive common application in real-life scenarios. The choice of Ondansetron as the anti-emetic drug of choice for Mr. Martin is informed by the drug’s characteristics. Being one of the best-studied anti-emetics, Ondansetron has been shown to assume a critical role in enhancing oral rehydration therapy compliance and decreasing the rate of hospitalization (Chow, Leung, & Hon, 2010; Sunderland et al., 2019). Overall, no antiviral drug was prescribed for this patient since, in most instances of acute viral gastroenteritis, the viral causative agent’s true identity often remains unknown. Besides, acute gastroenteritis in adults is often self-limiting, with the symptoms usually lasting for less than a week (Stuempfig & Seroy, 2020). On average, the patient often improves after 1 to 3 days (Stuempfig & Seroy, 2020).Acute Infectious Gastroenteritis Essay
References
Chow, C., Leung, A., & Hon, K. (2010). Acute gastroenteritis: from guidelines to real life. Clin Exp Gastroenterol., 3: 97-112
Stuempfig, N. & Seroy, J. (2020). Viral Gastroenteritis. StatPeals[Internet]
Sunderland, N., Westbrook, J., Urwin, R., Knights, Z., Taitz, J., Williams, H., et al. (2019). Appropriate management of acute gastroenteritis in Australian children: A population-based study. PLoS ONE, 14(11): E0224681 Acute Infectious Gastroenteritis Essay