Just want to run my data and nsg dx's by you. Please critique!

Nursing Students Student Assist

Published

My pt is a 90 female pt that was admitted from home, where she lived alone, with a dx of: after care post surgery and severe malnutrition. Here are my findings so far:

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[TD]Cues/Data/Assessment Findings

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[TD]Under weight

Ht: 63" Wt: 102 lbs

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[TD]fatigue

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[TD]Facial grimacing

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[TD]Muscle weakness

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[TD]Right side of abdomen tight and swollen upon palpation

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[TD]History of colon surgery:

Portion of colon removed.

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[TD]C/o shoulder pain with activity

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[TD]C/o back pain with repositioning or activity

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[TD]Recent History of back surgery:

Stimulators placed.

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[TD]Stated "my right side and belly feel tight and tender".

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[TD]Stated "I have a stool that won't come out. I need a laxative".

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[TD]Stated "I haven't had much of an appetite for weeks now".

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[TD]Stated "Before the surgery I weighed about 125 lbs. But I just haven't been hungry lately, so I lost a lot of weight".

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[TD]History of falls

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[TD]Age: 90 years old

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[TD]Opioids prescribed:

morphine

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[TD]Prealbumin 12.9 mg/dL

Low (20-30)

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[TD]Sodium 124 mmol/L

Low (136-143)

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[TD]Chloride 91 mmol/L

Low (101-111)

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[TD]BUN 28 mg/dL

High (7-20)

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[TD]Phosphorous 4.8 mg/dL

High (2.4-4.4)

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[TD]Albumin 3.3 mg/dL

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[TD]Patient lives alone[/TD]

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[TD]2+ edema present in both knees[/TD]

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[TD]Unequal pupils. Right pupil oval shaped and non responsive to light. Left pupil round and responsive to light

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[TD]Diminished hearing in right ear.

Whisper test performed, patient unable to detect sound or repeat back what was whispered to her.

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[TD]Stated "I don't have a sense of smell. I can't smell anything anymore". [/TD]

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[TD]gastritis[/TD]

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[TD]hiatal hernia

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[TD]Stated "I just can't seem to get all of the stool out" [/TD]

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[TD]Straining on defecation[/TD]

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[TD]Stated "since I had most of my colon removed a few years ago, I have to use a laxative daily". [/TD]

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[TD]Patient Activity: repositioning, simple assist to bedside commode, minimal activity.[/TD]

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[TD]Anemia

Hgb 12.0 g/dL, Hct 34.9%, RBC 4.5 mL/uL

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I have to present my instructor with 3 nsg dx's. She's very weak and underweight, so want to address that. Her constipation seemed to bother her a great deal.

From the data above, these are some of the possible nursing dx's I can see:

1. Imbalanced nutrition: less than body requirements r/t protein and vitamin requirements for surgical wound healing and decreased desire to eat. (Should I put a "secondary to" here? If so, would it just be anorexia? Or should I go so far as to say "secondary to pain and fatigue" even though she was unable to relate her lack of appetite to anything specific when asked?)

2. Constipation r/t effects of immobility on peristalsis. or is there a way to relate it to the removal of a large portion of her colon, daily use of laxatives, and immobility?

3. Activity Intolerance r/t compromised oxygen transport system secondary to anemia.

or I could go with a more psychosocial dx, but these are the ones that seemed pretty relevant.

Are there any other ones that I missed that I should address before these? Or can I improve on the dx's I listed?

Thank you,

Leslie

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
1.Risk for Pain related to recent surgery as evidenced by complaint of back pain with turning and positioning,as well as shoulder pain with activity.

2.Risk for skin breakdown due to impaired musculo-skeletal activity as evidenced by inability to turn and position self,as well as to activity intolerance.

If the patient is complaining about having pain it is no longer a risk is it? AND.....According to NANDA I there is NO AT RISK for pain diagnosis

You're correct Isis, that's why I was struggling with using pain as a ndx. She only c/o pain with movement, otherwise she denied pain or her levels were 1-2/10.

I am still working on this particular care plan, but the dxs I think I'm using are:

1. Imbalanced Nurtrition: less than body requirements r/t gastritis AEB abdominal pain, aversion to eating, low BMI, and poor muscle tone.

2. Constipation r/t decreased motility of GI tract and insufficient physical activity AEB straining with defecation, inability to pass stool, abdominal tenderness, anorexia, generalized fatigue and hard, formed stool.

3. Adult failure to thrive r/t fatigue AEB anorexia, unintentional weight loss of 15% in less than 6 months, evidence of fatigue, physical decline, and dehydration.

How do these sound to you? I would love another opinion!

Thanks,

~leslie

Thanks.....I like your comment, however I would like to point out that the complaint of pain is made upon turning, and positioning (facial grimacing, etc.)...in other words with activity.

If a patient is post-surgery, pain is a diagnosis....the fact that the above patient was admitted from home tells us that she had surgery some time ago...we are not sure of the time frame, so we cannot determine if this is acute, or chronic pain until we have more information. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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She has pain when she isn't lying still, i.e., when she tries to use her shoulder. That counts as pain, and you can determine whether it's acute (like postop) or chronic) generally defined as >12 weeks or beyond normal expected time for the procedure.

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