Case-Studies

Case-studies
Imagine you are a group of experts working together to solve the following cases. Choose at least 2 for your group. In each case, ask yourselves the following questions:

What is the problem?
What causes the problem?
What do I need to find out more about?
What can be done to solve/ improve the situation?

Case 1
In December 2007, a local bakery, Prima Deli was suspended for screening and investigations, after 109 food poisoning cases were found to be originated from the consumption of its chocolate cakes. The food poisoning is caused by the presence of Salmonella Enteritidis bacteria. One of its symptoms include watery diarrhea. With reference to the knowledge of the digestive system, propose possible explanation on how the bacteria has affected the digestive system to contribute to the observed symptom. Suggest ways on how food poisoning can be prevented.

Case 2
Imagine that you are a doctor. One day, a concerned mother arrived at the clinic with her young child. Being a skillful practitioner, you inquired about the child’s condition. You were told that the child has persistent fever, and also experiences indigestion and uneasiness due to bloating after every meal. Based on your professional experience, you suspected that the problem may have originated from the digestive system. Hence, you ordered the assistance nurse to arrange a series of laboratory testing for the child. A few days later, the test results were retrieved, and it indicated that large amount of undigested foods were found in the faeces. With a smile on your face, you called up the mother to follow up on her child’s condition.
Deduce what could have gone wrong with the child, based the symptoms described by the mother and the results of the laboratory testings.
Justify your deduction with supporting references.

When we were young, many of us will recall our mother telling us that “you are what you eat…” and “..healthy food is the key to maintain health…”. Is health maintained by simply consuming healthy foods? With the knowledge on digestive system, critically assess the validity of this sentence. Evaluate why some people are not adequately nourished despite having a good diet? [Hint: what happen with efficient digestion?]
Case 3

Case 4
Belching (i.e. burping), bloating, flatulence (i.e. farting) are common signals from our body, which will occurs in any individual despite age or level of health. Sometimes, these occurrences can be relatively embarrassing, especially in front of someone whom you wish to impress, or in formal occasions.
Look out for these signs in your body and record the frequencies of occurrence and content of your meals over 3 days period.
Identify the attributions of these signals from your body.
What can you infer about the health of your digestive systems, and support it with your research findings.

Jonny stomach growled in the middle of a group discussion. Feeling embarrassed in front of this classmates, he quickly excused himself by saying that he was having a stomach upset. Justify the correctness of his excuse, by substantiating with the knowledge of the digestive system. As good friends of Jonny, suggest ways to reduce his symptoms.

Case 5