NUR342 Evidence Based Health Research And Practice 2

1. The possible outcome is that the infant may be at a high risk of being infected with Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is mainly transmitted between individuals via contact with infected fluid thus Mrs. Nan Ng who is positive to hepatitis B can infect the baby via breastfeeding. The child will be likely to be infected with acute hepatitis B which later can become chronic as the disease is understood to develop slowly.  In reference to (Cryer & Imperial, 2019), about 90 percent of infants remain chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus as a result of virus transmission from the mother. As a result of Hepatitis B infection, the child will be likely to develop yellow skin and eyes, nausea, vomiting, low-grade fever, and loss of appetite.

2. Follow up visits for the infants and the family are vital as this will prevent the disease from spreading to other family members besides ensuring the child is completed freed from the condition. The follow-up visits will involve various services namely: Health care specialists will occasionally be required to conduct physical examinations, check any signs and symptoms of the disease, and order blood tests like liver function tests and AFP levels tests. Also, the health care specialist needs to occasionally confirm every family member is protected from hepatitis B by running anti-HBs titer tests 1-2 months after the last shot of vaccine series.  Follow up activities will also involve testing the child for HBsAg and anti-HBs 1-2 months after completion of at least three doses of a licensed hepatitis B vaccine series. The assessment will also involve the assessment of the effectiveness of post-exposure immunoprophylaxis (EASL, 2017).

Another service that can adequately cater to family’s needs is a test for HBsAg as well as anti-HBc or anti-HBs which will help in identifying susceptible individuals within the family. In this case, the first vaccine dose will need to be given for the first time of visiting after testing. After the tests, the susceptible individuals should complete a 3 dose hepatitis B vaccine series as this will help in preventing transmission from ongoing exposure (Lai, Chen & Chang, 2018).

3. Majority of hepatitis B virus cases occur via person to person transmission thus to prevent this here are some of the guideline that I will include in my report

1. All health care professionals who carry out exposure-prone procedures should be immunized against hepatitis Bas they are at risk of acquiring hepatitis B.
2. All staff workers should perform safe injection practices as this has been proved to protect HBV transmission.
3. A patient that is suspected to have hepatitis should be admitted directly to a single room and contact precautions established.
4. All health care workers should practice occupational safety practices like hand decontamination, covering existing wounds, and wearing appropriate PPE.
5. Every infant to receive hepatitis B vaccine within 48 hours of birth as this will reduce transmission via breastfeeding (Schillie et al., 2018)

References

Cryer, A. M., & Imperial, J. C. (2019). Hepatitis B in Pregnant Women and their Infants. Clinics in liver disease, 23(3), 451-462.

European Association For The Study Of The Liver. (2017). EASL 2017 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the management of hepatitis B virus infection. Journal of hepatology, 67(2), 370-398.

Lai, M. W., Chen, H. L., & Chang, M. H. (2018). Management of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Children and Pregnant Women. In Hepatitis B Virus and Liver Disease (pp. 263-296). Springer, Singapore.

Schillie, S., Vellozzi, C., Reingold, A., Harris, A., Haber, P., Ward, J. W., & Nelson, N. P. (2018). Prevention of hepatitis B virus infection in the United States: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. MMWR Recommendations and Reports, 67(1), 1.