| DISEASE AND CAUSES | PATHOPHYSIOLOGY | SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS |
| Behçet's syndrome |
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- Cause unknown; environmental factor or unknown virus can initiate process if genetic predisposition exists
- Family members may exhibit similar symptoms
| An overactive immune system produces sudden inflammation of small blood vessels; symptoms based on location of inflammation. Behcet's syndrome is more apparent in persons with Mediterranean, Middle East, and Far East ancestry. Onset is usually ages 10 to 20; five times more common in males. | - Recurrent genital ulcerations
- Recurrent oral ulcerations
- Eye inflammation and skin lesions
- Subcutaneous thrombophlebitis
- Epididymitis and deep vein thrombosis
- Arterial occlusion and aneurysm
- Severe headache and fatigue
- Bloating, diarrhea, cramping, and bloody stools
- Movement and speech difficulties
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| Bell's palsy |
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- Considered an idiopathic facial paralysis; infectious cause suggested
| Blockage of the seventh cranial nerve due to inflammation around the nerve where it leaves bony tissue leads to unilateral or bilateral facial weakness or paralysis. The blockage may result from hemorrhage, tumor, meningitis or local trauma. | - Unilateral facial weakness or paralysis, with aching at the jaw angle
- Drooping mouth, causing salivation
- Distorted taste
- Impaired ability to fully close eye on affected side
- Loss of taste and tinnitus
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| Blastomycosis |
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- Fungal infection due to Blastomyces dermatitidis; usually infects the lungs and produces bronchopneumonia.
- May disseminate through blood causing osteomyelitis and CNS, skin, and genital disorders
| Inhalation of the conidia leads to clearing of the organism by alveolar macrophages that kill conidia. Conidia that are not killed convert to yeast forms that trigger an inflammatory response resulting in the formation of noncaseating granulomas. | Symptoms mimic a viral upper respiratory tract infection:- Dry, hacking, or productive cough
- Pleuritic chest pain
- Fever, shaking, chills, night sweats, malaise, and anorexia
- Small, painless, nonpruritic, and nondistinctive macules or papules on exposed body parts
- Painful swelling of testes, epididymis, or prostate; deep perineal pain, pyuria, and hematuria
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| Botulism |
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- Paralytic illness due to an endotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum; often due to consumption of inadequately cooked, contaminated foods
| The endotoxin acts at the neuromuscular junction of skeletal muscle, preventing acetylcholine release and blocking neural transmission, eventually resulting in paralysis. | Appears within 12 to 36 hours after digesting food; severity depends an amount consumed. Initial signs include:- Dry mouth, sore throat, weakness, dizziness, vomiting, and diarrhea
Cardinal signs include:- Acute symmetrical cranial nerve impairment, followed by weakness and muscle paralysis
- Mental or sensory processes not affected and not associated with fever
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| Bronchiectasis |
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- Conditions associated with continued damage to bronchial walls and abnormal mucociliary clearance cause tissue breakdown to adjacent airways; such conditions include cystic fibrosis, immunologic disorders, and recurrent bacterial respiratory-tract infections
| Inflammation and destruction of the structural components of the bronchial wall lead to chronic abnormal dilatation. | In early stages:- Asymptomatic with complaints of frequent pneumonia or hemoptysis
- Chronic cough producing foul-smelling, mucopurulent secretions
- Coarse crackles during inspiration
- Wheezing, dyspnea, sinusitis, fever, and chills
In advanced stage:- Chronic malnutrition and right-sided heart failure due to hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction
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| Bronchiolitis |
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- No known cause; may be associated with specific diseases or conditions, such as bone marrow, heart or lung transplants, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus, and Crohn's disease
| Infection or other unknown factors cause necrosis of the bronchial epithelium and destruction of ciliated epithelial cells. As the submucosa becomes edematous, cellular debris and fibrin form plugs in the bronchioles. | Subacute symptoms:- Fever, persistent nonproductive cough, dyspnea, malaise, and anorexia
- Physical assessment reveals dry crackles
Less common:- Productive cough, hemoptysis, chest pain, general aches, and night sweats
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| Brucellosis |
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- Due to gram-negative, aerobic Brucella bacterium that is transmitted by consumption of unpasteurized dairy products and meat or contact with infected animals or their secretions or excretions
| Nonmotile, nonspore-forming, gram-negative coccobacilli of Brucella species cause an acute febrile illness. | Usually insidious In acute phase:- Fever, chills, profuse sweating, fatigue, headache, backache, and enlarged lymph nodes
In chronic phase:- Depression, sleep disturbances, and sexual impotence
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| Buerger's disease |
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- Cause unknown; however, link to excessive smoking suggests hypersensitivity to nicotine
| Polymorphonuclear leukocytes infiltrate the walls of small and medium-sized arteries and veins. Thrombus develops in the vascular lumen, eventually occluding and obliterating portions of the small vessels. | - Intermittent claudication of the instep
- With exposure to cold, feet become cold, cyanotic, and numb; later, feet become red, hot, and tingle
- Painful ulcerations on fingertips
- Decreased peripheral pulses
In later stage:- Muscle atrophy and gangrene
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