The history and symptoms exhibited by the patient point to a likelihood of a GI tract infection as they are most prevalent in hepatobiliary and GI complications. GI tract infection is known to disappear in about four to five days if not diagnosed, and proper medication is given. The patient is, thus, under GI disorder treatment.
Rationale: Due to the patient’s drug abuse, it is most likely a case of Hepatitis C. The patient has apparent symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Drug abuse is one of the leading causes of Hepatitis C (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2018). Rosenthal and Burchum (2018) add that after infection, the body starts marking some proteins and show after about twelve weeks. The diagnosis involves checking the blood for the proteins, as mentioned earlier. A nonreactive or negative result does point to Hep C. A positive or reactive result points to the previous infection, and another test will be required (Chalasani et al., 2018). An HCV RNA will be used to measure the amount of viral RNA in the blood. A negative result shows that the patient has no Hep C, while a positive result will indicate an infection of the Hep C virus.
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Drug Therapy Plan: Although it a long term treatment (approximately eight weeks), Glecaprevir-Pibrentasvir tablet will be the most effective considering the patient’s current treatment plan that includes Synthroid, nifedipine, and daily prednisone dosages. The patient will take a daily dosage -three tablets per day at meal times. It is the most preferred as a first treatment and is recommended for all kinds of HCV with no history of cirrhosis (Chalasani et al., 2018). The treatment of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir is also efficient as it is best preferred for the patient with prior infection of Hep C and in various stages.
References
Chalasani, N., Younossi, Z., Lavine, J. E., Charlton, M., Cusi, K., Rinella, M., . . . Sanya, A. J. (2018). The diagnosis and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Practice guidance from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Hepatology, 67(1), 328–357. Retrieved from https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hep.29367
Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2018). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice providers. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.