Care Plan help needed!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, In-Home Care, Community Based Nursing.

Hey guys!

I am doing my second care plan; and my pt. was a bit more complicated than I originally thought. SO now I am sitting here with a million and one conditions and complications and s/s and have NO idea what to have my two d/x as.

I am THINKING of having Acute Pain and Impaired Tissue Perfusion. But I used Acute pain as one of my d/x for my last care plan and really don't want to use acute again as a priority d/x.

I have a 60yo man. admitted for GOUT attack and uncontrolled pain.

He has acute kidney failure, bipolar depression, hypertension. very severe GOUT, hyperlipidemia, cirrhosis of the liver r/t alcoholism (pt. stated he is now sober though and has been sober for a few years), he also has hepatitis C, and type 2 DM.

That being said, his DM is well managed without the use of insulin or oral antidiabetics (he manages it through diet evidently). The pain he was in was almost unbearable for him, he literally did not get out of bed all day. He is ordered pain meds BUT they only seem to help him IF he keeps still (pain level at a 3/10); but once he moves, his pain levels increase to like a 6/10 while medicated. He can barley move at all because of the GOUT (its affect mainly his L arm but it seems to have spread down the whole R leg, so even changing positions in bed seems to be a battle for him).

His vitals were all unremarkable, BP 136/60, P 64, T99.7, R24 and O2 was at 97 RA. lung sounds clear but diminished in bases. His H&H and RBC were low, all his specific WBC values were increased, BUN/creat were increased, uric acid was high, total protein and albumin were both low.

If I am looking at this properly, it seems to me like he has like 3 separate problems here- inflammation/infection maybe r/t the GOUT (from all his specific wbc counts being elevated? right?); I see that he is have liver issues (low albumin and total protein and high uric acid & along with his h/x.); AND a tissue perfusion problem (both renal and peripheral) r/t his acute kidney failure, DM, and HTN.

Any thoughts? I am so scrambled with all of this info and I'm not even sure if I'm looking at this in the right way. I don't know what my priority should be because all of his problems seem to be of equal importance =/

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Specializes in Geriatrics, In-Home Care, Community Based Nursing.

I was just thinking-

SO he has HTN right, well HTN is collerlated with decreased CO right?

and a major cause of acute kidney failure ("AKI" was what was specifically said in his chart) is decreased CO. and he has an elevated BUN/creat.

So could decreased CO be a d/x?

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Do you still need help? I have been in the hospital again....sigh

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Oh Esme. Im so happy to see you are back. I hope you are doing well. You have a lot of people who enjoy reading your posts here on AN. Welcome back!!!!!!!!!! Wishing you a very speedy recovery!!!!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Thanks! It's been a rough recovery. I ended up with an ileus then Pulmonary embolism. All better....:)

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