NURS 6512 Middle Tennessee State University Wk6 Abdominal Assessment
NURS 6512 Middle Tennessee State University Wk6 Abdominal Assessment
ABDOMINAL ASSESSMENT
Subjective:
- CC: “My stomach hurts, I have diarrhea and nothing seems to help.”
- HPI: JR, 47 yo WM, complains of having generalized abdominal pain that started 3 days ago. He has not taken any medications because he did not know what to take. He states the pain is a 5/10 today but has been as much as 9/10 when it first started. He has been able to eat, with some nausea afterwards.
- PMH: HTN, Diabetes, hx of GI bleed 4 years ago
- Medications: Lisinopril 10mg, Amlodipine 5 mg, Metformin 1000mg, Lantus 10 units qhs. NURS 6512 Middle Tennessee State University Wk6 Abdominal Assessment
- Allergies: NKDA
- FH: No hx of colon cancer, Father hx DMT2, HTN, Mother hx HTN, Hyperlipidemia, GERD
- Social: Denies tobacco use; occasional etoh, married, 3 children (1 girl, 2 boys)
Objective:
- VS: Temp 99.8; BP 160/86; RR 16; P 92; HT 5’10”; WT 248lbs
- Heart: RRR, no murmurs
- Lungs: CTA, chest wall symmetrical
- Skin: Intact without lesions, no urticaria
- Abd: soft, hyperactive bowel sounds, pos pain in the LLQ
- Diagnostics: None
Assessment:
- Left lower quadrant pain
- Gastroenteritis
Assignment 1: Lab Assignment: Assessing the Abdomen
A woman with severe abdominal cramping visited the emergency room. The doctor determined that she had diverticulitis, but as a precaution, he ordered a CT scan. The cramping was actually caused by pancreatic cancer, which was discovered to be the growth on the pancreas that was discovered by the CT scan. NURS 6512 Middle Tennessee State University Wk6 Abdominal Assessment
Finding the precise cause of abdominal pain can be time-consuming and difficult due to the high risk of misdiagnosis. Nurses can get ready to diagnose abdominal conditions more accurately by studying case studies of abnormal abdominal findings.
In this Lab Assignment, you will analyze an Episodic note case study that describes abnormal findings in patients seen in a clinical setting. You will consider what history should be collected from the patients as well as which physical exams and diagnostic tests should be conducted. You will also formulate a differential diagnosis with several possible conditions. NURS 6512 Middle Tennessee State University Wk6 Abdominal Assessment
TO PREPARE
Review the Episodic note case study your instructor provides you for this week’s Assignment. Please see the “Course Announcements” section of the classroom for your Episodic note case study.
- With regard to the Episodic note case study provided:
- Consider what history would be necessary to collect from the patient in the case study.
- Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate to gather more information about the patient’s condition. How would the results be used to make a diagnosis?
- Identify at least five possible conditions that may be considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient.
THE ASSIGNMENT
- Analyze the subjective portion of the note. List additional information that should be included in the documentation.
- Analyze the objective portion of the note. List additional information that should be included in the documentation.
- Is the assessment supported by the subjective and objective information? Why or why not? NURS 6512 Middle Tennessee State University Wk6 Abdominal Assessment
- What diagnostic tests would be appropriate for this case, and how would the results be used to make a diagnosis?
- Would you reject/accept the current diagnosis? Why or why not? Identify three possible conditions that may be considered as a differential diagnosis for this patient. Explain your reasoning using at least three different references from current evidence-based literature.