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I feel so stupid. What should I have done?



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Aug 09, 2009 02:22 AM

I feel so stupid. What should I have done?


A CNA came to me and told me that one of my residents was walking fine yesterday, but couldn't walk today. I went to assess her, and had the CNA's lay her down. She was screaming and sobbing. I felt of her hip, and tried moving it around. She was in obvious extreme and unusual pain, and I didn't know what was wrong with her. She is in a very advanced stage of Alzheimer's, and was especially confused today. She really is not capable on any day of telling us where she hurts. She is very delusional. Anyway, I called the Dr, and had her sent out to the ED to be evaluated for her pain. Her son met her there. She came back with antibiotics and pyridium. Dx:severe UTI. The son was upset, and didn't understand why we didn't just give her a PRN pain med. He also thought we should have known about the UTI without sending her out. They had given her pyridium in the ED, and I get her back feeling a lot better. I feel bad that he was annoyed. I feel dumb that I thought it was a hip. What should I have done? How could I have done better?


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17 Comments
No. 1
from yalienne
Old Aug 09, 2009, 03:15 AM

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
I think you did the right thing. It is better to be safe than sorry especially with a dementia patient who is unable to communicate with you. Her son is just a jerk.
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No. 2
Old Aug 09, 2009, 03:23 AM
Updated Aug 09, 2009 at 03:47 AM by Not_A_Hat_Person

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
You did the right thing. Even if you know about the UTI, you can't treat it without a doctor's order. Giving a PRN pain medication won't do anything.
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No. 3
from JessicaSN
Old Aug 09, 2009, 03:29 AM

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
You did the right thing. How does the son expect you to "know" about a UTI? If someone cannot tell you where it hurts, and it isn't causing a fever (yet), it's not like you're psychic.

Severe UTI's in elderly people can lead to sepsis quickly so you totally did the right thing. You had a feeling in your gut that something wasn't right and you followed it. I don't know what you could have done better.
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No. 4
from Virgo_RN
Old Aug 09, 2009, 04:16 AM

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
What could you have done differently? You could have taken your crystal ball to work with you instead of leaving it at home, duh!

But seriously, I think you did the right thing.
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No. 5
from GQRN
Old Aug 09, 2009, 05:21 AM

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
You actually did the patient a favor by sending her to ER. First of all, if you had suspected a UTI, you'd be on the phone trying to get a hold of the doctor for an order to do U/A with C/S. Then you'd send it to the lab and probably get it back the next day. If her UTI was severe, another day could had led it to Urosepsis, you never know especially at that age.

Sometimes the Doc will see the UA results and choose to wait for the pending C/S results, further delaying treatment.

Another thing, it was a change in condition. Severe pain should be enough to send a patient to the ER for evaluation.

Great job on getting her on ABX sooner.
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No. 6
from canoehead
Old Aug 09, 2009, 05:50 AM

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
You should have sent her to the ER, which you did. The son is a dummy.
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No. 7
from emmalou*
Old Aug 09, 2009, 05:52 AM

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
You managed her the way I would have. The thing I found the most difficult about aged care when I first started, was some of the relatives. Some people will try to use emotional blackmail to make you feel bad - don't take this on board! They might have their own issues or feelings of guilt placing their parent in managed care and this can have an effect on the way they communicate with the staff.

One of the most common issues for older people are UTIs - the fact that the lady has dementia and isn't able to communicate makes it even harder to assess her. The good thing about her being in the ER is that they would have given her IV fluids and ABs which would have resolved the condition.

You did the right thing.
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No. 8
from morte
Old Aug 09, 2009, 07:37 AM

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
son is projecting....politely ignore him
and make sure your aide is aware of how much you appreciate her/his input!
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No. 9
from dskrninpa
Old Aug 09, 2009, 09:09 AM

Default Re: I feel so stupid. What should I have done?
UTIs = Sepsis if not treated properly. You did the right thing.
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