Nursing

Identify a person you know who has an immune system disorder or cancer. Review content in your text for potential types of disorders.

Interview the affected person and write a 3-5 page paper identifying your findings

ANSWER

Module 02 Written Assignment – Immune System Disorder

Introduction

Crohn’s disease is an immune system disorder linked to inflammatory bowel disease (Torres et al., 2017). It leads to digestive tract inflammation, which results in abdominal pain, fatigue, malnutrition, weight loss, and severe diarrhea. This paper will focus on the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, etiology and management of Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease can result in complications such as fissures, fistulas, ulcers, bowel obstructions, and an increased risk of colon cancer and blood clots.

Pathophysiology

The pathophysiology entails genetic predisposition, dietary, environmental, infectious, and immunological. Crohn’s disease starts with abscesses and crypt inflammation, becoming tiny focal aphthoid ulcers. The mucosal lesions then become longitudinal ulcers with overriding mucosal edema. Fistulas enter the bladder, rounds of the bowel, and psoas muscle. Crohn’s disease is classified into three principal patterns: primary inflammation, obstructing, and fistulizing (Scharl and Rogler, 2014). The characteristics Trans-mural inflammation can involve the entire intestinal tract from the mouth to the perianal area. The ongoing scarring or ongoing inflammation leads to structure formation and bowel obstruction. Crohn’s disease is also linked to entrovaginal, entreovesical, and enterocutaneous fistulas. The most common functional changes with Crohn’s disease include abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, loss of appetite, cramping and abdominal pain, and fever.

Etiology

Immune system disorders such as Crohn’s disease result from overactivity or low immune system activity. When there is an immune system overactivity, the body damages its tissues. The etiology of Crohn’s disease shows that the disease results from an inappropriate immune response in the bowel to situations from different environmental impacts such as toxins, drugs, intestinal microbes, or infections. Crohn’s disease appears to be a genetic link with phenotype. Immune system malfunctioning leads in development of Crohn’s disease. An autoimmune condition leads to the immune system attacking the body cells mistakenly. Ideally, when the immune system attacks body cells, there are immune system responses that lead to inflammation, a Crohn’s disease symptom. Crohn’s disease may result in complications such as ulcers, bowel obstruction, fistulas, colon cancer, malnutrition, and anal fissure.

Clinical Manifestations

In Crohn’s disease, the large or small intestine can be affected and may consist of multiple or continuous fragments (Roda et al., 2020). In most patients, the disease is found in the colon, part of the large intestine. The symptoms and signs can range from mild to severe. They usually grow gradually but at times can occur suddenly without any warning. When Crohn’s disease is active, symptoms and signs may include fever, diarrhea, fatigue, mouth sores, weight loss, reduced appetite, and pain around the anus. Severe Crohn’s disease can result in skin inflammation, liver, iron deficiency, kidney stones, and delayed sexual development.

Treatments

The goal of treatment of Crohn’s disease is to lower the inflammation in the intestines, maintain remission and prevent flare-ups of the symptoms. Despite the fact there are no medicines that cure Crohn’s disease, physicians focus on reducing symptoms. Amino-salicylates and corticosteroids are the most common treatment forms that help control inflammation. Corticosteroids help in reducing the immune system activity while Amino-salicylates control inflammation.

The Interview

Brines has been living with immune system disorder for the last ten years. He has been able to continue living with his activities of daily living independently. Brines states that she has to make frequent trips to the restroom due to abdominal pain and fatigue while at work. Diet has been used to control Crohn’s disease, but when experiencing a flare, medications are used. Brines uses corticosteroids to reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms such as abdominal pain. He experiences psychological effects such as confusion and memory problems due to corticosteroid intake. The immune system disorder has led to changes in his body weight and inflammation that impacts her mobility. Crohn’s disease makes him feel frustrated, stressed, scared, and upset. Brines has not yet tried natural alternative treatments for Crohn’s disease, such as probiotics and acupuncture, which have been recommended to him.

Conclusion

Crohn’s disease leads to digestive tract inflammation, fatigue, weight loss, abdominal pain, malnutrition, and severe diarrhea. The disease results in mental, physical, and emotional damage. There is no accurate treatment for Crohn’s disease, but there exists different treatment options that work to lower the signs and symptoms.

References

Roda, G., Chien Ng, S., Kotze, P. G., Argollo, M., Panaccione, R., Spinelli, A., … & Danese, S. (2020). Crohn’s disease. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 6(1), 1-19.

Scharl, M., & Rogler, G. (2014). Pathophysiology of fistula formation in Crohn’s disease. World journal of gastrointestinal pathophysiology, 5(3), 205.

Torres, J., Mehandru, S., Colombel, J. F., & Peyrin-Biroulet, L. (2017). Crohn’s disease. The Lancet, 389(10080), 1741-1755.