A previously healthy 21 year old male presents himself to our clinic with a 7 day history of an extreme malaise, stiffness and tenderness in the neck and a sore throat. Upon analysis it was confirmed they were diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis, also known as glandular fever. It is commonly caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (Hurt & Tammar, 2007). Infectious mononucleosis is a clinical syndrome that can be characterized by a multitude of symptoms. The disease is most likely to occur in adolescents and young adults. And may include headaches, malaise, pharyngitis, fever, lymphadenopathy, pharyngeal lymphatic hyperplasia, mild transient hepatitis and atypical lymphocytosis. Through examination of this patient, it was shown that; palatal
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When looking at blood tests, infectious mononucleosis usually causes your body to produce more white blood cells as it tries to defend itself. An infection with EBV cannot be confirmed with a high white blood cell count, however the results can suggest it’s a strong possibility. Also the lymphocytes are also looked at, where if a patient shows more than 20 percent atypical lymphocyte, infectious mononucleosis is fairly likely and further diagnosis is to confirm this is not needed. With this patient is was shown that his white blood cell count was above normal range and had more than 50 percent of his lymphocytes showing atypical lymphocytosis. When compared to other research, this confirms the presence of infectious mononucleosis to be true. To further increase the accuracy of the diagnosis a VCA-IgM test is selected to test for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies and is usually urgently required to determine acute infectious mononucleosis. It is commonly used by competitive athletes who want to return to competition as soon as possible. This patient did elect to have a VCA-IgM test performed which came to show his serum contained EBV
When looking at blood tests, infectious mononucleosis usually causes your body to produce more white blood cells as it tries to defend itself. An infection with EBV cannot be confirmed with a high white blood cell count, however the results can suggest it’s a strong possibility. Also the lymphocytes are also looked at, where if a patient shows more than 20 percent atypical lymphocyte, infectious mononucleosis is fairly likely and further diagnosis is to confirm this is not needed. With this patient is was shown that his white blood cell count was above normal range and had more than 50 percent of his lymphocytes showing atypical lymphocytosis. When compared to other research, this confirms the presence of infectious mononucleosis to be true. To further increase the accuracy of the diagnosis a VCA-IgM test is selected to test for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies and is usually urgently required to determine acute infectious mononucleosis. It is commonly used by competitive athletes who want to return to competition as soon as possible. This patient did elect to have a VCA-IgM test performed which came to show his serum contained EBV