Medical Dx Pathophysiology and Manifestation HELP!

[Mrs.Priss]

We have to fill out a NPR for clinicals. There is a section that says "Pathophysiology and Manifestations" We are supposed to use reliable interenet sources. A lot of students are putting the definition of the dx and the professor is not all right with that. Can someone please explain to me how I am supposed to write a pathophysiology and manifestion for a dx? I am beyond frustrated/confused!!!! :)

[nguyency77, CNA]

Hi! I just found out that I got into nursing school a few days ago. But, I have taken Pathophysiology I and am in Pathophysiology II right now, so I think I might be able to help you out. :) I don't know how much detail your teacher wants, but here goes something. Definitely ask her to clarify. Does she want manifestations for just that patient, or for the disease in general?

Pathophysiology is the process through which a disease occurs. For example, an MI is a blockage in one or more coronary arteries that affect tissue perfusion, resulting in ischemia and death of myocardial tissues. But putting just the definition of an MI wouldn't tell you much about how MI's occur.

Atherosclerosis, the most common cause of myocardial infarctions, is the accumulation of plaque in blood vessels. Many things contribute to atherosclerosis, and therefore to risk of MI. Atherosclerosis can contribute to an MI by directly occluding a coronary artery, or plaques can break off, causing platelets to aggregate and form a clot that can also occlude the vessel. When the artery is blocked, blood can't perfuse the myocardium. Two things can happen here: 1) the body can attempt to create collateral circulation to get around the block (I'm not sure how long this would last) -OR- 2) cardiac cells will start to die as a result of ischemia. Major effects of the MI depend on where the occlusion occurred and how long the patient remained untreated.

Clinical Manifestations are the presenting signs and symptoms of patients with MI (or whatever disease processes you're talking about). With MI, men and women present differently. Men typically experience a crushing pressure or chest pain, typically radiating down the left arm, shoulder, or jaw. They might be sweaty, short of breath, or pale and clammy. Women have atypical symptoms like fatigue, weakness or syncope.

Hope that helped! And good luck. :)

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

I think this is why I am surprised that more schools don't require patho as a pre-req. We were required to take an upper level pathophysiology course as a pre-req and I am so glad. I feel like this class has been almost more useful in nursing school then a and p even. It pulls everything together-labs, manifestations, assessment findings, and just about everything. Every dgx is going to have a pathophys and manifestations. When we did careplans for my med-surg I and II we would write the path and manifestations for that disease not just directly related to our patiet because those would ahve already been covered in our subjective and objective assessment findings. Do you have a patho book or is it in your med-surg book? That would be your greatest resource. If you need more detailed help, I can. :)

[Mrs.Priss]

That DID help! Thank you so much for explaining this in detail for me! It helped me a lot! :)

[Mrs.Priss]

I do not have a patho book. I am in fundamentals right now. Med-Surg is next semester. Can you recommend a good patho book?