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Nine-year-old child admitted with frequent cough and fever of > 100.5° F (38.1° C) for the past month. Child lives with parents and with grandparents who recently emigrated from SE Asia. Weight = 20 kg. Parent reports significant weight loss in child. Child reporting fatigue and poor appetite. Denies vomiting/diarrhea. Does have some nausea. No problems with voiding or stooling. Child does well in school.

A. Pneumonia

B. Tuberculosis

C. Asthma

D. HIV

2 Answers

6 votes
The answer should be A Pneumonia
User Tehwalrus
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3 votes

Answer:

In this clinical picture, two probable pathologies could be suspected according to the written ones, HIV or pneumonia could be suspected, as for ASMA and tuberculosis, since asthma does not generate fever, and tuberculosis does not present a high incidence rate. in the child's residence area.

Pneumonia causes fever, cough, and weight loss because of the body's demand for energy to cope with this condition.

On the other hand, HIV would be suspected, because it also presents these symptoms, although it is generally associated with others such as spontaneous bleeding from the gums, night sweats, etc. What makes us doubt the most between both diagnoses is the repeatability of the condition, which is why an acquired immunodeficiency such as that generated by HIV could be suspected.

These would be two presumptive diagnoses, where we presume what the child would have since the information or data given in the question are insufficient to give a certain diagnosis, for that we could do a chest X-ray, a quick test of HIV or an ELISA, count of LTCD4 + to be able to know with certainty if the child has HIV or not. Regarding pneumonia, the child's respiratory capacity could be analyzed, a chest rx would be taken, a sputum test.

Step-by-step explanation:

I hope I was clear in the question, I would lean more towards chronic pneumonia, therefore I would risk saying that the correct one could be A, although knowing about the subject is highly debatable with the possible diagnosis of HIV, being a child there is It should be extremely expectant and to be able to discard different doubts not only with clinical manifestations or signs of the patient.

The certainty of the diagnosis determines the success of the treatment.

User Thijsfranck
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