Posted: August 4th, 2015

Assessment 1 – Case study 1

Assessment 1 – Case study 1

Due Date: Sunday Week 5 (17th August 2015)
Note: must be submitted by midnight Darwin, N.T. time
Topic: Central Nervous System (Topic 1)
The following is a case study with four questions. You are required to choose and respond to two questions out of 4. Response to each question should not exceed 250 words and the length of the entire assignment is 500 words.
Assignments are due at midnight. Any assignment submitted after midnight NT time incurs a 10% penalty per working day i.e 10% penalty is incurred 5 minutes past midnight for every working day it is late.
After five working days (taken from midnight) the assignment receives a ‘zero’.
Case Study 1

Mrs Tim is 79 years old who weighs 75Kg and lives in her own home. She receives assistance with physical chores such as shopping and cleaning, but is still able to do light tasks such as tidying the house and cooking her own meals. She does not undertake any exercise activities. She has a history of hypertension and her blood pressure measured today is 145/90. She has not been diagnosed with diabetes or coronary heart disease. Mrs Tim has presented today at an Emergency Department, Royal Melbourne Hospital after experiencing an episode of blurred vision, difficulty speaking and dizziness. She did not lose consciousness and did not experience muscle weakness. The episode commenced about an hour ago and lasted for approximately 20 minutes. She was not asleep when the symptoms commenced. After arriving at hospital, a CT scan was performed and no tumour was observed. An MRI scan is about to be performed.

1. Based on the information in the case study, which type of stroke is Mrs Tim likely to have suffered?

2. Identify which features from Mrs Tim’s case notes (the information above) are risk factors for the development of stroke.

3. Would it be appropriate to consider treating this patient with tissue plasmin activator (tPA, alteplase)? How does this drug work?

4. After Mrs Tim has been stabilised and is ready to be discharged home, what type of information should she be given to assist in preventing further stroke.