A client with a body temperature of 99.8°F is admitted to the hospital. The client complaints of fatigue, blood-tinged hemoptysis and night sweats. The client’s symptoms are consistent with a diagnosis of:
A. Tuberculosis
B. Reaction to antiviral medication
C. Pneumonia
D. Superinfection due to low CD4 count
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer: A. Tuberculosis
Explanation:
The client presents with a constellation of symptoms — low-grade fever (99.8°F), fatigue, blood-tinged hemoptysis (coughing up blood), and night sweats — all of which are classic signs of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), a contagious bacterial infection primarily affecting the lungs. These symptoms, though sometimes nonspecific, are strongly suggestive of TB when they occur together.
Key Symptom Analysis:
- Fever and Night Sweats: TB commonly causes a persistent low-grade fever, often accompanied by night sweats due to the body’s immune response to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria.
- Fatigue: Chronic fatigue is typical in TB due to the body’s ongoing inflammatory and immune response to infection.
- Hemoptysis: One of the hallmark symptoms of active pulmonary TB is coughing up blood, which occurs as the bacteria damage lung tissue.
Why the other options are incorrect:
- B. Reaction to antiviral medication: While antiviral reactions may cause fatigue or rash, they are unlikely to cause night sweats or hemoptysis. These are not typical symptoms of drug reactions.
- C. Pneumonia: While pneumonia can cause fever and cough, hemoptysis is less common, and night sweats are not a hallmark symptom. Pneumonia usually presents with an acute onset of symptoms such as productive cough, chest pain, and high fever.
- D. Superinfection due to low CD4 count: This typically suggests an opportunistic infection in someone with advanced HIV/AIDS. While TB can occur in immunocompromised patients, the clue here is not the CD4 count but the symptom pattern pointing directly to TB.
Conclusion:
The symptom pattern described — low-grade fever, fatigue, night sweats, and blood-tinged sputum — is most consistent with tuberculosis, a potentially serious and contagious condition that requires prompt diagnosis and isolation to prevent transmission.
