Hypothermia
Scenario/Summary
Betty was an active 24 year-old with a good job at the local University. She helped students navigate the complexities of the FAFSA application process to access monies for their educations. Betty loved her job and attended all of the graduation ceremonies as a final send-off of the students to their dream lives.
In September, Betty started to feel tired and had a low-grade fever. She also experienced some nausea and stomach pain. Worried that she was developing a stomach virus, she stayed at home that weekend and tried to get as much rest as possible. She turned to soft foods to decrease the stomach distress. By Monday, she was feeling a little better and hoped she was on the mend.
However, later in the week, her joints started hurting and her leg muscles were sore. She couldn’t think of anything she had done differently that would account for the muscle soreness and joint pains. She chalked that up to sleeping wrong.
A few months later, the fatigue and weakness returned and she noticed that her hair was breaking easily and thinning, and that she was developing swelling in her legs and face. She also had dry skin and craved eggs and cottage cheese. Betty couldn’t get enough of these two foods. Fearing that something serious may be wrong, Betty scheduled an appointment with her physician.
Her physician ran a battery of tests to determine that Betty was suffering from a hepatitis C virus and was experiencing hypoproteinemia. In particular, her albumin levels were low.
Based on what you’ve learned about blood flow, the liver’s role in production of proteins, and pressure at the capillaries, address the following questions.
Deliverables
Answer the following questions and save your responses in a Microsoft Word document. Provide a scholarly resource to support your answers.
- Describe all the constituents contained in plasma and their concentrations.
- Explain the liver’s role in production of proteins.
- Why would albumin be important in regulating pressure at the capillaries?
- Explain the process of fluid movement at both the arterial and venous side of the capillary.
- What can Betty do to improve her situation
Answer preview
Plasma is the liquid component of blood, that is, blood without thrombocytes, leukocytes, and erythrocytes. It is made up of 91% water and 9% of solids comprising of coagulants to help in clotting, electrocytes like potassium, calcium, chloride, sodium, and bicarbonate to maintain pH levels, proteins like albumin which ensure maintenance of oncotic pressure, immunoglobulins to fight infections, and small amounts of other hormones, enzymes, and vitamins (Matthew and Varacallo, 2018). It is a product of salts and water that have been absorbed from the digestive tract.
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