Published May 2, 2010
NecieK
5 Posts
So i have my first care plan due and its not on a real patient so the only assessments I come up with are from paper, here it goes.
ICU floor 45/F diagnosed with colon cancer which seems to be caused from a tumor in her ascending colon. She has abdominal distention (assessment #1 possibly paralytic ileus??)[/u] her hemoglobin is 8 and hematocrit is 30 (assessment #2 anemic). She is NPO. She has an NG tube for decompression. (im feeling like she is more then likely post op ?)She has an infusion of saline 5% hanging at 100cc/hr . And she has rales and rhonchi to the right and lower left lobes.
Ok so we know she has:
Colon Cancer
Abdominal Distention
Low HgB and hemotocrit....Is this caused from surgery or the cancer ??
She has a distended abdomen...Same question as above
And she has rales and rhonchi
So im thinking my Nursing Diagnosis should be:
#1 Imbalanced Nutrition: less than body requirements related to ??? AEB Low blood counts
#2 Airway clearance, ineffective related to retained secretions AEB rales and rhonchi.
#3 Skin integrity, risk for impaired related to decrease in nutritional intake.
Any help would be so appreciated , Im extremely frustrated
CuriousMe
2,642 Posts
Great job, you're on the right track!!! Of the three problems you identified....which, if it got much worse, would impact your patient's ability to sustain life?
Airway clearance right??
right, so you'll want to go ahead and prioritize that one.
As we don't know for sure that she's post-op, I don't think I'd put down risk for infection.
Nooooooo !! AHHHHHHH now i feel real stupid lol
Infection
JulieCVICURN, BSN, RN
443 Posts
I'd also include risk for aspiration somewhere in there. If you have a paralytic ileus there's a serious risk of vomiting and aspirating. I see it more than I'd like to admit.
But do we know for sure she is even post op, or are we looking into it too deep...I think thats what makes this so confusing kwim?
AggieNurse99, BSN, RN
245 Posts
A few points to consider - NG suction - also suctions out all stomach acid, right? Can cause metabolic alkalosis. What steps are being taken to prevent this? H/H of 8/30 - anemia. Why is anemia a problem too? And she's on NS @ 100 ml/hr, so is the anemia going to get better or worse? Doesn't matter at this point why she's anemic. My guess is that she's had a hx of poor PO intake d/t abdomnial distention & discomfort. Go back to assessment 101. What do rhonchi and rales signify?
elizabeth321
209 Posts
well i haven't done care plans for a long time but as a nurse I am thinking about :
no K replacement ordered?
if is he in ICU she must be post op intubated....otherwise why would she be there? sepsis?
she isn't getting enough volume for NPO and losing fluids by NG
the anemia number can be exaggerated by the fact she is dry
if her abdomen is distended that is a red flag because either her ng is not working or her vent
she is also at risk for pneumonia due to not moving...tubed....
I liked the problem you had for nutrition and skin integrity but there are billions more
I'd be careful about reading to much into it. It's that whole realworld/NCLEX world dilema :)
Things that aren't listed:
Post-op or not
Intubated or not
I'm with AggieNurse....I'd stick to your assessment findings and follow up with the rales & Rhonchi
Ok done and sent off to the teacher...Ill let yall know when I get my grade how it went....And BTW THANKS!!!
so what happened?