Cancer Patient, Case Study Example

The woman described in the case study has the stated history of cancer as well as having gone through chemotherapy, so it is likely that she is experiencing at least some degree of immuno- suppression.  This would make her vulnerable to infection as well as other communicable diseases.  She appears to be suffering from an infection, likely caused by the insertion of the catheter.  The high fever, as well as the results of the blood culture, indicate infection, and likely, she may experience chills, tachycardia, fatigue, muscle aches, weakness, decreased blood pressure, redness or swelling at the site, or elevated white blood cell count.

Most likely, the infection developed inside the catheter, or else, surrounding the insertion site where the catheter entered the vein.  More blood tests would need to be done in order to determine specifically what type of bacterium are causing the infection.  Blood samples would need to examine both blood from the PIC line as well as blood from the area surrounding the line.  Despite the fact that the woman is a cancer patient, it appears that the cause of her current problem derives from the catheter line for the infusion.

After the blood is drawn, it would need to be analyzed to determine which antibiotic treatments would most likely treat the infection successfully and completely.  Lab tests would need to identify which of the wide range of antibiotics available would provide a successful response, one that would eradicate the infection completely.

The type of treatment administered would be be determined based on several factors: the type of catheter, the severity of the infection, and the overall health of the patient.  One way of fighting the infection would be to flush out the line with high doses of antibiotics.  This could possibly kill the bacteria that are causing the infection so that the line might not have to be removed.

The infection may be localized to one specific area of the patient’s body, in which case the type of antibiotics and the intensity would be tailored to the need, and ideally, would not necessitate a long-term regimen.  If, however, the severity of the case causes a bloodstream infection that spreads elsewhere in the body, a very strong dose of antibiotics would need to be administered, possibly intravenously, in order to reach all areas of infection.  This could require hospitalization of the patient.

The risk of developing an infection from an intravenous line could be minimized if there is great attention paid to maintain a sterile environment regarding the insertion and maintenance of the insertion site.

If the infection is treated with the most effective antibiotics and in a timely way, the prognosis for the patient would be quite good.  If, however, the infection is severe enough, and coupled with the patient’s already compromised immune system and cancer, the result could be the death of the patient.  This would be an ironic case in which the treatment kills the patient, rather than the disease itself.