NU 606 Advanced Pathophysiology
Week 10 Assignment
Differential Case Study
For this assignment, you will choose one of the following four patient scenarios. Using your knowledge of pathophysiology and research, you will need to present a differential of three disorders that could account for your patient’s symptoms. This will be uploaded for the whole group.
Patient 1: 35-year-old man with a history of anxiety,chronic marijuana use, and chronic back pain. No current medications or other history, but he has been consistently complaining of back pain since joining the Thursday night league volleyball team. Single, lives alone, and works at a fast food restaurant. Heterosexual and consistent use of protection (barrier).
Patient 2: 12-year-old male with no past medical history, developmentally normal, and has recently been bullied at school – although he hasn’t told anyone. Immunizations are up to date. Likes to play lacrosse and is normally very active, but over the summer he has put on 15 pounds. His mother has noticed that he is drinking a lot of water and is up and down all night going to the bathroom. One younger sister with no issues. Currently raised by mother; father not regularly involved in care.
Patient 3: 15-year-old female, never smoked or used any illicit substances; well supported by her sister and brother, but her parents “don’t understand” her. She lives just a few blocks from school and usually walks. She tells the counselor she just doesn’t feel herself and thinks that “God made a mistake.” The counselor notices that she seems especially thin and is concerned, but the student states that she is “just trying to get her breasts to go away.”
Patient 4: 18-year old male. He is the “life of the party” and has a consistent history of drinking every weekend. He loves to play basketball and is a point guard and team captain. His girlfriend is the head cheerleader. He hasn’t been going out as much as usual on the weekends, and pretty much goes to school, practice and games, then home and to bed. His younger brother is a freshman and they are both on the varsity team this year. He gave his younger brother his good-luck jersey for Friday night’s game. He seems nervous when he’s awake and his girlfriend is concerned because he’s talking to himself a lot. She also mentions that he had been really angry for the past couple of months and now he’s not happy or sad.
To complete your assignment:
Choose one patient scenario.
Offer three differential diagnoses for what might be troubling your patient.
Provide rationale with citations for each of your differential diagnoses.
What would be your first course of action for your patient?
What safety issues, if any, did you recognize for your patient?
Summarize the scenario and what you chose as your final diagnosis for your patient and why.
Make sure that you address psychosocial issues/concerns/contributors, along with content related to substance abuse, should this be appropriate.
This assignment should take no more than 1–2 pages, not including your title and reference pages.
