How to study for my short answer quiz?

[catnessk]

Hello everyone!

I am making notes on the liver content right now on hepatitis and I wrote out the simplified version of hepatitis and now I am looking at the signs and symptoms and I feel like I get a general drift of some of them but am confused as to what the pathophys behind it is.

So for acute hepatitis the S/S are

diarrhea, fatigue, loss of appetite, mild fever, muscle or joint aches, nausea (manifestations of the right upper quadrant pain), slight abdominal pain (enlargement of the liver or fluid retention?), vomiting (vagus nerve stimulation?), weight loss (low protein production - albumin?).

Those mentioned above can help to reverse the effects of hepatitis but if not treated it will lead to these S/S

circulation problems (only toxic/drug induced hepatitis)

dark urine (from excess bilirubin being produced and also because it is the water soluble conjugated bilirubin that is being excreted to the urine?)

dizziness (only toxic/drug induced hepatitis)

enlarged spleen (only alcoholic hepatitis)

headache (only toxic/drug induced hepatitis)

hives (?)

itchy skin (manifested from the jaundice produce bile salts that come in contact with the blood with will cause the itching)

light coloured feces (contain little stercobilin therefore the pale stools - abolis?)

yellow skin, white eyes, tongue (liver parenchymal cell damage?)

I just want everyone to take a look at this and see if I am on the right track and that any of this makes sense!

Thank you all!

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

Is this for a pathophysiology class? It would help to know. If it's for med-surg (and even just for patho, too) what is the nursing management of hepatitis? That would be your next step, I guess. Otherwise, everything else seems good.

[catnessk]

Yeah it is for pathophysiology using the med-surg textbook. I really want to aim for 100% on this quiz!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

diarrhea, fatigue, loss of appetite, mild fever, muscle or joint aches, nausea (manifestations of the right upper quadrant pain), slight abdominal pain (enlargement of the liver or fluid retention?), vomiting (vagus nerve stimulation?), weight loss (low protein production - albumin?).

In part:

Nausea / vomiting, joint and muscle aches: from the direct effects of toxins the liver isn't clearing well

and N/V from pressure on the liver capsule from swelling, from crowding the stomach, ascites, increased venous pressure in portal (liver) circulation causing venous engorgement in abdomen and its contents ...

Abd pain: swelling, pressure on liver capsule, ascites, increased venous pressure in portal (liver) circulation causing venous engorgement in abdomen and its contents

Wt loss: N/V, lousy appetite, protein losses into ascites