Health Care: Seven Diseases, Essay Example

Day- One: – Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. This is tuberculosis that is resistant to drug therapy. Two most common drugs for which a resistance occurs are isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin. MDRTD begins when patients are being treated with antibiotics and do not take the medication as prescribed. Levels drop and after a time the organism becomes resistant to the antibiotic.

Day Two: – HELLP syndrome is an obstetrical disorder associated with pre-eclampsia. The onset is sudden and occurs during the last trimester of pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia is associated with hypertension, edema of extremities and protein in the urine. HELLP syndrome may not present these signs but there could be a sudden onset of seizures before any of these signs surface (Haram, Svendsen & Abildgaard, 2009).

Day Three: – Acute Respiratory Diseases Syndrome (ARDS) are a set of signs and symptoms indicative of dysfunction in the respiratory tract. They consist of shortness of breath; hypoxia coming from tachypnea. The onset is very sudden and is usually triggered by infections such as sepsis, pneumonia and pancreatitis (Ware & Matthay, 2000).

Day Four: – Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is also called the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). It is a very deadly disease being caused by prions. Manifestations begin as acute onset of dementia, which progresses rapidly towards memory loss; hallucinations and locomotor alterations. These symptoms signal a gradual brain death, which eventually leads to end of life stages. Diagnosis is made through cerebrospinal fluid analysis; electroencelopgraphy and MRI. Scientists are still conducting research regarding its treatment. However, pentosan polysulphat has been used with a great measure of success (Ironside, 2006).

Day Five: – Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is characterized by having alterations in one’s personality. The unity of consciousness through, which people identify themselves becomes distorted. This happens suddenly as well as spontaneously. Associated with this disorder is amnesia manifested as forgetfulness. Psychologists contend that memories repressed during childhood due to abuse could be a predisposing factor. Another theory supporting this disorder relates to psychologists creating it in individual for therapeutic purposes. However, it does not denounce that MPD is a real problem among adolescents and adults as they find difficulty relating themselves in an appropriate manner.

Day six: – TORCH is the acronym for (T)oxoplasmosis, (O)ther Agents, (R)ubella (also known as German Measles), (C)ytomegalovirus, and (H)erpes Simplex (Abdel-Fattah et.al, 2005). Precisely, it refers to infection characteristic of any of these five conditions mentioned above. They usually occur in the developing fetus or new born. Manifestations in the fetus or new born are microcephaly; hrombocytopenia; sensorineural deafness; hepatosplenomegaly and chorioretinitis. Accompanying these conditions usually is a very high fever; inadequate feeding and rashes. The condition is diagnosed during intrauterine life or at birth through physical examination or diagnostic testing. Prognosis depends on the stage of pregnancy in which the diagnosis is confirmed.

Day Seven: – Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is a pediatric dysfunction characterized by an inappropriate socialization process. These children have difficulty initiating relationships with persons in their social environment in accordance with their age development. Psychologists have contended that this condition emerged from inadequate opportunities for forming attachments with mothers and caregivers during the formative stages of psychosocial development. Predisposing factors are neglect and child abuse (Schechter & Willheim, 2009).

References

Abdel-Fattah, S. Bhat, A. Illanes, S. Bartha, J., & Carrington, D. (2005). TORCH test for fetal medicine indications: only CMV is necessary in the United Kingdom. Prenat. Diagn. 2 (11); 1028–31.

Haram, K. Svendsen, E., & Abildgaard, U. (2009). The HELLP syndrome: clinical issues and management. A review. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 9, 8.

Ironside, J. Sutherland, K. Bell, J. McCardle, L. Barrie, C. Estebeiro, K. Zeidler, M., & Will, R.(2006). A new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: neuropathological and clinical features. Cold Spring Harbor symposia on quantitative biology 61: 523–30.

Schechter, D., & Willheim, E. (2009). Disturbances of attachment and parental psychopathology in early childhood. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 18 (3), 665–86.

Ware, L., & Matthay, M (2000). The acute respiratory distress syndrome. N Engl J Med, 342 (18), 1334–49.