Case Study Analysis: Aspergillosis

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1 Case Study Analysis: Aspergillosis Nurses’ understanding of cells and cell behavior is an essential element of nursing practice that impacts disease diagnosis and treatment. This understanding helps nurses devise the best strategies to handle complex conditions and avert the risk of adverse eventualities. Cooper and Gosnell (2019) noted that nurses must investigate all aspects that go beyond isolated cell behavior to understand diseases effectively. These aspects include racial and ethnic variables, environments where cell processes operate, and patient characteristics. Genetic and cellular processes alteration produce symptoms that nurses rely on for making a diagnosis and developing practical treatment plans.

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This paper looks at the case of a patient with invasive aspergillosis. It focuses more on the cause of the presented symptoms, the genetic factors associated with the disease, and the process of immunosuppression. Invasive Aspergillosis The symptoms presented by the client, in this case, are fever, chills and sweat, fatigue, hemoptysis, chest pain, and coughing. These symptoms are associated with the respiratory system, the target system for aspergillomas (Harman (2021). The Aspergillus fungal spores enter the body through breathing and invade the lungs and the sinuses. The presence of the infectious agents in the respiratory system causes hypersensitivity, which triggers inflammation and excessive mucus production leading to trouble breathing, chest pain, and coughing. The occasional episodes of hemoptysis are associated with severe damage to the lung tissue (Wu & Wang, 2019). Underlying immunosuppression, which plays a massive role in this disease, contributes to neutrophil dysfunction. Harman (2021) noted that dysfunctional neutrophils could not prevent vascular invasion, leading to infarction, lung tissue necrosis, and hemorrhage. Genetic Involvement Research has shown that genetic factors influence the development of invasive aspergillosis. Genetic predisposition increases the risk of developing this disease in some people. The genetic variants associated with invasive aspergillosis include Tumor necrosis factor genes (TNFR), interleukin genes (IL), Toll-like Receptor genes (TLR) NFκB-Related Genes, plasminogen genes (PLG), and AGER genes (Cunha Aversa, Romani & Carvalho, 2013). Defective C-type Lectin genes also play a role in developing invasive aspergillosis. The genes enhance the production of cytokines in dendritic cells and macrophages. Alterations in the Toll-


3 Like receptor genes also affect fungal sensing, making it hard to clear the infectious agents (Cunha Aversa, Romani & Carvalho, 2013). Immunosuppression In invasive aspergillosis, the host’s defense system relies on the respiratory immune system’s ability to restrict the germination of fungal spores and subsequent invasion to the lung tissue. However, in persons with suppressed immune systems, the immune cannot prevent germination, invasion, inflammation, and tissue damage caused by the pathogenic materials (Latgé & Chamilos, 2019). As highlighted by Boraschi and Penton-Rol (2016), immunosuppression refers to the ineffective state of the immune system whereby it cannot clear or prevent the infectious agents from invading the body. Boraschi and Penton-Rol (2016) pointed out that all immune system components lose their capacity to fight infections in immunosuppressive states. Immunosuppression is caused by exposure to certain chemicals, the presence of certain diseases, drugs, bone transplant, and chemotherapy. These factors leave a person more vulnerable to infections than a healthy person. Conclusion The nurses’ comprehension of genetic and cellular aspects of a disease is essential in practice since it facilitates diagnosis and treatment of complex conditions such as invasive aspergillosis. This disease affects the respiratory system leading to severe respiratory symptoms. Some of the genes involved in invasive aspergillosis are interleukin, toll-like receptor genes, and tumor necrosis factor genes.


4 References Cunha, C., Aversa, F., Romani, L., & Carvalho, A. (2013). Human genetic susceptibility to invasive aspergillosis. PLoS pathogens, 9(8), e1003434. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1003434 Latgé, J. P., & Chamilos, G. (2019). Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillosis in 2019. Clinical microbiology reviews, 33(1), e00140-18. https://dx.doi.org/10.1128%2FCMR.00140-18 Wu, S. P., & Wang, L. W. (2019). Pulmonary aspergillosis with presenting symptom of hemoptysis. In Pulmonary Aspergillosis (pp. 165-244). Springer. Cooper, K., & Gosnell, K. (2019). Foundations and adult health nursing. Mosby Boraschi, D., & Penton-Rol, G. (Eds.). (2016). Immune rebalancing: The future of immunosuppression. Academic Press. Harman, E. M., (2021). Aspergillosis. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/296052overview#a1


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