NR 507 DISCUSSION PART TWO WEEK 2 ADVANCED
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY EXAM NEWEST 2026 ACTUAL
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Discussion Part Two (graded)
Tammy is a 33-year-old who presents for evaluation of a
cough. She reports that about 3 weeks ago she developed a
“really bad cold” with rhinorrhea. The cold seemed to go away
but then she developed a profound, deep, mucus-producing
cough. Now, there is no rhinorrhea or rhinitis—the primary
problem is the cough. She develops these coughing fits that
are prolonged, very deep, and productive of a lot of green
sputum. She hasn’t had any fever but does have a scratchy
throat. Tammy has tried over-the-counter cough medicines but
has not had much relief. The cough keeps her awake at night
and sometimes gets so bad that she gags and dry heaves.
Write a differential of at least five (5) possible diagnosis’s and
explain how each may be a possible answer to the clinical
presentation above. Remember, to list the differential in the
order of most likely to less likely.
Based upon what you have at the top of the differential how
would you treat this patient?
Suppose now, the patient has a fever of 100.4 and complains of
foul smelling mucous and breath. Indeed, she complains of
producing cups of mucous some days. She has some trouble
breathing on moderate exertion but this is only a minor
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complaint to her. How does this change your differential and
why?
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Sarah Drum
9/5/2016 6:11:48 PM
Week 2 DB 2
Bronchitis
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the lower respiratory track
of the bronchial tubes “Acute bronchitis is usually caused by a
respiratory virus and occasionally by bacterial infection,
although this occurs in less than 10 percent of cases” (Acute
Bronchitis, 2016). The symptoms of bronchitis include coughing
up mucus that is yellow or green, a runny or congested nose that
started a few days before the chest congestion, fatigue,
wheezing, shortness of breath with activities, and “coughing
fits.” The patient reports having a runny nose about three weeks
ago when this started. A runny nose was her only complaint
when the illness started. Once the runny nose went away, the
cough and chest congestion started. She currently does not
have a fever, but her throat is scratchy. Her throat could be
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scratchy from all of the coughing she has done. Her symptoms
seem to fit all of the symptoms associated with bronchitis,
especially since she is not running a fever and the fact bronchitis
can last several weeks. The patient is not having any fever or
chills, so this could indicate that it is viral, and there is no
infection.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a lung infection that can have mild to
severe symptoms. They symptoms range from a cough which
can produce yellow, green, or bloody mucus, fever, shortness of
breath, chills, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, and
sweating. Bronchitis and Pneumonia are very similar, that is
why sometimes a person is diagnosed with one when they really
have the other. An x-ray can rule out or confirm pneumonia. It
can begin with a sore throat, dry cough, muscle aches, and then
it will progress to having a productive cough with discolored
sputum. It can be from bacteria, viral, or even fungal. The
patient is at more of a risk for pneumonia because she did have a
cold, it could have possibly turned into a pneumonia due to the
congestion (Pneumonia, 2016).
Acute Sinusitis
“Sinuses are hollow spaces in the bones around the nose
that connect to the nose through small, narrow channels”
(Sinusitis, 2016). Acute sinusitis is an infection of the sinuses. It
affects one in eight adults every year. What happens is the sinus
cavities become inflamed and then are unable to empty
mucus. The inflammation could have come from the cold, and
now that the sinus cavities are blocked from inflammation, she
has developed a sinus infection. Symptoms include congestion
(chest or nose), pain, pressure, or fullness in the face, and
yellow or green mucus. Bacterial sinusitis is suspected if it has
been longer than 10 days, and the patient is not better. The
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patient has had symptoms for at least three weeks, and so acute
bacterial sinusitis should be suspected (Sinusitis, 2016).
Asthma
Even though asthma does not explain all of her
symptoms, it is a possibility. The patient may have asthma and
an irritant is exacerbating it, which is causing the sputum. These
irritants could be pollen, smoke, or house hold chemicals. It also
could explain the coughing fits she has at night, and the
shortness of breath with exertion. Symptoms of asthma include
tightness in the chest, wheezing, coughing (sometimes with
sputum). Sometimes the patient will experience coughing fits,
and may occur especially in the morning and at night. She has
coughing fits at night. She could have had a case of allergic
rhinitis, and not the cold. The allergic rhinitis may have triggered
an asthma flare up. The patient would need to find out what is
triggering it, and avoid it.
Allergic Rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis is an inflammation of the nasal membranes such
as the nose, eyes, eustachian tubes, middle ear, sinuses, and
pharynx that is caused by allergies. The symptoms vary but are
sneezing, congestion (chest or nose), headache, red eyes,
fatigue, and itchy nose, ear or eyes. Histamine, tryptase,
chymase, kinins, and heparin are released in the blood when
exposed to an allergen. The release of these into the blood
stream gives the patient symptoms that cause
inflammation. Once you take the allergen away, the allergic
rhinitis goes away. Allergic rhinitis affectes roughly 40 million
people in the United States. (Sheikh, J., MD, & Kaliner, M., MD.,
2015). She may be allergic to pollen, certain chemicals she has
been using lately, or other things such as mold.