Microbiology Case Study: Toxic Shock Syndrome
I. Background
AH, a 12-year-old Caucasian female, escorted by her 32-year-old mother to the local hospital’s emergency department early one morning. AH’s mother noted that within the past 3 hours AH has shown a variety of symptoms. These symptoms include: fever of 102ᵒ Fahrenheit, chills, aggressive vomiting, diarrhea, and an intense red rash of the palms and soles of her feet. AH also added that she has a sore throat, headache, muscle aches, and has not urinated within the past 24 hours (TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME 2014). When questioned about the dates of her most recent menstruation cycle, AH admitted she had currently been menstruating for the past 3 days. Upon further examination by the emergency …show more content…
Damage is caused to the physical and mental functions of the body by a reduced amount of blood flow circulated throughout the body, also known as shock, which attributed to the extremely low blood pressure. Upon examination of the blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid the laboratory results revealed a prominent trace of the bacteria known as Staphylococcal aureus (Bauman 2015). This gram-positive bacteria is part of the normal human flora, meaning this bacterium does not usually cause infection; this type of bacteria can be found in moist areas of the body such as: the groin area or the nose (Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS)). The thick peptidoglycan layer helps the bacteria’s cell wall to absorb the purple color. The color is then retained after grams iodine is applied. The color remains in the bacterium’s cell wall after decolorization and a counter-stain process; thus, resulting in a positive Gram …show more content…
The tampon acted as a highly susceptible site for S. aureus to cultivate at a rapid rate. The bacteria begins to release toxins, which in turn are absorbed by the blood; once entered into the blood steam, the bacteria is able to spread and infect numerous areas of the body. Toxic Shock syndrome only affects few in the United States, but with help of the FDA by banning brands of dangerous super-absorbent tampons and requiring every box of tampons to include educational information regarding the severity of obtaining Toxic Shock syndrome the national average has dwindled to less than 65 cases yearly (Bauman
I. Background
AH, a 12-year-old Caucasian female, escorted by her 32-year-old mother to the local hospital’s emergency department early one morning. AH’s mother noted that within the past 3 hours AH has shown a variety of symptoms. These symptoms include: fever of 102ᵒ Fahrenheit, chills, aggressive vomiting, diarrhea, and an intense red rash of the palms and soles of her feet. AH also added that she has a sore throat, headache, muscle aches, and has not urinated within the past 24 hours (TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME 2014). When questioned about the dates of her most recent menstruation cycle, AH admitted she had currently been menstruating for the past 3 days. Upon further examination by the emergency …show more content…
Damage is caused to the physical and mental functions of the body by a reduced amount of blood flow circulated throughout the body, also known as shock, which attributed to the extremely low blood pressure. Upon examination of the blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid the laboratory results revealed a prominent trace of the bacteria known as Staphylococcal aureus (Bauman 2015). This gram-positive bacteria is part of the normal human flora, meaning this bacterium does not usually cause infection; this type of bacteria can be found in moist areas of the body such as: the groin area or the nose (Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS)). The thick peptidoglycan layer helps the bacteria’s cell wall to absorb the purple color. The color is then retained after grams iodine is applied. The color remains in the bacterium’s cell wall after decolorization and a counter-stain process; thus, resulting in a positive Gram …show more content…
The tampon acted as a highly susceptible site for S. aureus to cultivate at a rapid rate. The bacteria begins to release toxins, which in turn are absorbed by the blood; once entered into the blood steam, the bacteria is able to spread and infect numerous areas of the body. Toxic Shock syndrome only affects few in the United States, but with help of the FDA by banning brands of dangerous super-absorbent tampons and requiring every box of tampons to include educational information regarding the severity of obtaining Toxic Shock syndrome the national average has dwindled to less than 65 cases yearly (Bauman