Identify possible nursing diagnoses that Karen may have and provide a rationale for your choice:
A nursing diagnosis that would be attributed to the patient, Karen in the case study would be risk of deficient fluid volume. Karen’s slightly elevated pulse and respirations and additionally the assessment findings of mild oedema and blister formation show that there is a movement of body fluid into the second and third interstitial spacing. Brown and Edwards (2008) states this is caused by increased capillary permeability. Water, sodium and plasma protein move into the intestinal spacing and surrounding tissue. Furthermore Karen states that she has a headache, feels nauseas and chilled after being over exposed to the sun. Karen has a temperature of 38.5 and an abundant of redness to her body surface after prolonged exposure. Over exposure to ultra violet rays can cause thermal burns which leads to increased fluid loss via evaporation from the injured skin. Assessing the fluid loss, perfusion and oxygenation status, and evaluating the need for fluid and electrolyte replacement that is lost, through fluid and protein shifts can aid in the restoration of intravascular volume.
Another expected nursing diagnosis is acute pain. The sudden onset of pain is a result of the nociceptive tissue damage and the nursing treatment required for the injury tissue. Careful assessment of the wound and surrounding tissue can help determine the level of injury sustained. The pain is variable and cannot be reliably predicted by clinical assessment of the patient. ‘Burn patients experience two kinds of pain continuous background pain, which occurs during the course of the day and night. Secondly, a treatment induced pain which is related to ambulation,...
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Determining the seriousness and appropriate treatment of a burn requires its classification. Burns are classified according to three factors, the depth and number of affected tissue layers, the total percentage of the body surface that is involved, and the presence of homeostasis disruption or destruction such as respiratory distress, fluid loss, or loss of blood pressure control (Patton & Thibodeau, 2014). According to Mr. MacPherson’s appearance and symptoms, his burns are classified as second-degree or partial-thickness burns. The evidence for this diagnosis according to Patton and Thibodeau (2014), are his presenting symptoms of severe pain and the appearance of blisters, edema, and fluid loss. This type of bur...
Pain has been defined by Coates & Hindle as an unpleasant emotional and sensory experience which signals a potential or actual damage to tissues (2011, p. 213). Pain is a common human experience and can emanate from injury and illness. There are two main types of pain; acute pain is short-lived, lasting for minutes or several days and its onset often takes place rapidly. It results from the activation of pain nerve endings or nociceptors either by internal or external pain stimuli. On the other hand chronic pain is continuous and sometimes recurrent and can last for weeks, months or even years. Chronic pain is usually not located at or related to the tissue undergoing trauma (Draper & Knight, 2007, p. 104). Various theories have been proposed to explain the mechanism underlying the transmission and perception of pain.
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Assessing and managing pain is an inevitable part of nursing and the care of patients. Incomplete relief of pain remains prevalent despite years of research due to barriers such as lack of kn...
Burn injuries may originate in many different environments and by several different causes. The most common type of burn is a thermal or heat exposure burn. The magnitude of the burn has to do directly with the amount of time that the skin was in contact with the heat and the temperature of the heat. Usually thermal burns are cause by flames, hot liquid, steam or a hot object, depending on the severity of the burn, treatments may vary. Burns may also be caused by frostbite, chemical bur...
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This study will be conducted in order to compare between available pain assessment tools and the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) in order to realize the following:
This essay will aim to look at the main principles of cancer pain management on an acute medical ward in a hospital setting. My rational for choosing to look at this is to expend my knowledge of the chosen area. Within this pieces of work I will look to include physiological, psychological and sociological aspects of pain management.
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