Description
Case Study:
A 65 year-old female was admitted to the hospital two days ago with a medical diagnosis of
community-acquired pneumonia plus significant dehydration. She has now been adequately
rehydrated with PO and IV fluids in addition to beginning a 14-day course of levofloxacin
(Levaquin). Following 2 days of IV levofloxacin, she is ready for discharge home with
instructions to maintain an adequate fluid intake and a prescription for levofloxacin 500 mg PO
every day for 12 more days.
You are preparing for her discharge home and in deciding how to instruct her to take the
levofloxacin, her other health problems and medications must be considered:
GERD: esomeprazole (Nexium) 20 mg each day
sucralfate (Carafate) 2 g suspension (20 mL), 2 times each day
Osteoporosis: alendronate (Fosamax) 70 mg PO once each week
calcium citrate (Citrical) 400 mg once each day; 8 oz milk at two meals
each day
Dyslipidemia: rosuvastatin (Crestor) 20 mg each day
Hypothyroidism: levothyroxine (Synthroid) 75 mcg each day
Directions:
**Discuss community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) vs hospital-acquired in terms of
causes/typical organisms, means of transmission, and then the actual pathophysiology of
pneumonia. Briefly describe diagnostic tests and clinical presentation of CAP including how this might differ with an elderly patient. While preparing for this patient’s discharge, you must also consider her comorbidities and treatment of such in planning patient teaching. In completing this paper, discuss the causes and pathophysiology of the 4 additional medical problems listed above. Also include a brief discussion of clinical manifestations and potential complications. The focus here is to demonstrate your understanding of the pathophysiology.