Scenario:
A 49-year-old patient with rheumatoid arthritis comes into the clinic with a chief complaint of a fever.
Patient’s current medications include atorvastatin 40 mg at night, methotrexate 10 mg po every Friday morning and prednisone 5 mg po qam.
He states that he has had a fever up to 101 degrees F for about a week and admits to chills and sweats.
He says he has had more fatigue than usual and reports some chest pain associated with coughing.
He admits to having occasional episodes of hemoptysis.
He works as a grain inspector at a large farm cooperative.
After extensive work-up, the patient was diagnosed with Invasive aspergillosis.
The Assignment
Develop a case study analysis in which you:
Explain why you think the patient presented the symptoms described. (Not a trick question but reflective of a patient on immunosuppressive drugs and a high-risk employment for exposure to Aspergillosis)
Identify the genes that may be associated with the development of the disease.
Explain the process of immunosuppression and the effect it has on body systems.
