Disease

Introduction The Coronovirus is a relatively common group of viruses believed to be responsible for a the majority of common colds. Coronavirus' are also the infectious agent responsible for the 2003 asian outbreak of SARS​1​ (Severe acute respiratory syndrome). More recently, the 2019-2020 Chinese pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan province has been traced to a newer strain of the virus known as 2019-nCoV​2​. Coronavirus as seen through an Electron Microscope Most people will be infected with a variant of…

Effective COPD management plan includes four components: (1) assess and monitor disease; (2) reduce risk factors; (3) manage stable COPD; (4) manage exacerbations. The objectives of effective COPD management are to: Prevent disease progression Relieve symptoms Increase exercise tolerance Improving the health status Prevent and treat complications Preventing and treating exacerbations Reduce mortality These objectives should be achieved with minimal side effects from treatment, a…

The Cytokine Cascade or cytokine storm is a relatively recently described autoimmune response in which the body's immune system gets caught in a positive feedback loop leading to a runaway and potentially fatal autoimmune response. A cytokine cascade can be particularly troublesome treat as it is the normal response of a healthy immune system, and so treatment usually focusses on the active interference of the immune processes rather than treatment of the underlying infection. Cytokine cascades have been implicated in…

An intussusception is a generally acute condition in which a section of the intestine folds into the section next to it. Cases will often involve the small intestine, however cases involving the large intestine do occur. Patients may present with abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal bloating and blood in the stool. An Intussusception is not considered life threatening unless it has been allowed to develop, or otherwise remained untreated for some time. The mechanics of intussusception often result in occlusion…

Hand hygiene is a vital part of any infection control practice. Nurses are constantly disinfecting their hands hundreds, if not thousands of times per day (or at least they should be) but this mentality has spread to the greater public, with antibacterial soaps becoming more readily available, and to some, a necessity. You would expect this to be good news, but it's not. Recently emerging evidence has shown that this over-use of antibacterial soaps outside of the healthcare setting may actually be doing more damage…