Question

The Cyber-Samantha's Mystery

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 Review the rubric criteria for posting. Review the Cyber-Samantha Case Study and clues. Answer the following questions in the discussion in complete sentences. How could Samantha’s present illness lead to her death? Discuss how her immune system reacted to the flu virus. Discuss how prednisone could affect her immune system. Present a hypothesis regarding how Samantha died? Case Study: The Cyber-Samantha Mystery By Dr. Bruce Forciea Background A police officer held open the front door to Samantha’s house while detective Jones entered and proceeded through the living room to the stairs leading to the basement. "She was found this way by her son this morning,” said the officer. “The son said he tried to contact her over the past 3 days and became worried, so he stopped by to check on her on his way to work.” Samantha’s body lay on the floor face down with both arms sprawled in front of her as if to break the fall. A small pool of blood encircled her head. “I’m so sorry for your loss Mr. Alvarez, but I will need to ask some questions,” said detective Jones to Samantha’s son. “Sure, whatever I can do to help,�‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍�� said Samantha’s son. “Did your mother have any health issues that could affect her balance?” said detective Jones while opening his notepad. “She had a bad case of the flu,” said the son. “I think she’s had it for about a week.” “Do you know who her doctor is? We need to get her medical records,” said detective Jones. “Yes, it’s Dr. Jane Simon. She has been seeing her for years, but I think she went to urgent care for this flu.” “We’d like to get your permission to do an autopsy to rule out foul play along with getting her medical records. I’ll get the forms to you,” said detective Jones. “ Yes, of course,” said the son, “I want to find out what happened.” Medical Records Acme Urgent Care Clinic Most Recent Entry Samantha Alverez reported to the clinic with sinus congestion, fever, and bronchial cough. History Patient is a 60-year-old right-handed post-menopausal female standing 5’4” tall and weighing 120 lbs. Medications include: Progesterone for symptoms of menopause Prednisone for Rheumatoid Arthritis Vital Signs: Blood Pressure: 130/85 Pulse: 92 bpm Temperature: 100.2? Exam Findings Inflammation ‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍of sinuses and throat. Lungs clear on auscultation. Bronchial wheezing.

Expert Solution

Samantha's flu virus could have led to her death through the respiratory tract infection and throat. The tract would respond with an extreme inflammation that could have led to sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection in the body. The sinus congestion was caused by the flu virus affecting her for about a week. The use of Prednisone lowered her immune system thus making the body weak to fight the virus. The sinuses would have made it difficult for her to breathe, thus lacking enough oxygen in her body thus, causing her to collapse.

Her immune system did not effectively react to the flu because of her age and arthritis. Her body had a weak immune system and could not fight the flu virus, thus enabling it to develop, making it difficult for her to recover. Her blood pressure of 130/85 is high-normal, which exposed her to developing high blood pressure. Therefore, Samantha's immune system was weak to react to the flu virus.

Samantha was under the medication of Prednisone for the vital signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Prednisone could affect her immune system by developing high blood pressure. Prednisone lowers the activity of the immune system (Hox et al., 2020). The effect shows why the immune system responds slowly to Samantha's flu virus. The immune system mistakenly attacks its tissues helping the virus to develop and spread to other critical body parts. Prednisone likely contributed to the inflammation of the sinuses and the throat as an effect of the development of the flu virus in the body.

If Prednisone lowers the immune system, then Samantha's death resulted from using the Prednisone for treating signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis which made her body weak to fight the flu virus.

References

Hox V, Lourijsen E, Jordens A, Aasbjerg K, Agache I, Alobid I, (…), Gevaer P (2020) Benefits and Harm of Systematic Steroids for Short- and Long-term Use in rhinitis and Rhinosinusitis: An EAACI Position Paper

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