question about pt symptoms

i tried to post in student forum but the page will not load for me.

My instructor wants me to make a report on this and turn it in, in the morning.

Ok i took care of a male today dx: pneumonia. well he was taking 10 MeQ of potassium and refused b/c he said it hurt his stomach. so no dose of that today. he went and had a BM and then sitting on the edge of bed when i walked in leaned over bed table obviously in pain and saying his stomach hurt so i gave him a hydro PRN. went on lunch came back and his regular nurse gave him zofran IVP b/c hes been vomiting and has a rigid abdomen that wasnt there when i done an assessment 2 hours prior. the hospitalist came in there and wanted an ultrasound and his nurse told me they thought he had a hot abdomen...

Ok, I asked my instructor what that was and she said what do you think? I told her hell, I dont know. so she asked his symptoms. well rigid abdomen, vomiting, cramping that's it.

she wanted me to look online to see what a hot abdomen was and tell her in the morning. No such luck, I have searched it every which way, nothing.

Hot abdomen, what is it? any website i can look at

[DuluthMike]

You need to give a lot more information if you want some help. Patient age, past medical history, labs ect ect ect. Maybe then we can help you work through the pathophys of this.

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

I have not heard this specific term, perhaps is it regional. But I'm pretty sure I know what they are talking about. Think of "hot" in terms of inflammation---what would cause sudden, massive inflammation in the abdomen?

Have you tried googling the symptoms though?

And sorry, but what is a hydro?

[Spacklehead, MSN, NP]

Try doing a search on "acute abdomen" instead and I'm sure you'll get better results with several possibilities as to the cause.

I haven't heard the term "hot abdomen." I'm only a student but from your description it seems he may be suffering from peritonitis (rigid/washboard abdomen is a classic sign often accompanied by n/v) - although, I'd need more info as the poster replied above. Any s/s of bleeding? Did you auscultate bowel sounds when you did your assessment? What was he in the hospital for? Hx of BO?

Edited Apr 15, 2010 by donnasRN

In the way I've used it and heard it used, hot = acute. Try "acute abdomen." Means there is something in there (perforation? obstruction?) needing evaluation now, today, over and above the usual bad tummy stuff.

hydro = hydrocodone

"hot abdomen" is a way of saying acute abdomen

[ExPharmaGirl, BSN, RN]

I just did a search and it pulled up some peritonitis related stuff with the search term "hot abdomen"

[ExPharmaGirl, BSN, RN]

I just found an article written by an ER nurse referring to a "hot" abdomen as a surgical abdomen. It doesn't explain anything else, but the reference is in there under LEVEL II Emergent.

http://www.wellsphere.com/nursing-article/the-er-stuff-you-need-to-know-part-1-triage/577982

Bowel Obstruction?

[charley75]

Have heard many say hot appendix with an appendicitis but never hot abd

[medicrn13]

he went and had a BM and then sitting on the edge of bed when i walked in leaned over bed table obviously in pain and saying his stomach hurt so i gave him a hydro PRN.

Was it a regular, formed bowel movement? Was it diarrhea? Color? Any frank blood noted? How bad was the pain?

and has a rigid abdomen that wasnt there when i done an assessment 2 hours prior.

Why didn't you assess the abdomen when he began complaining of abdominal pain? Any change in patient condition requires further assessment, something you'll learn later I'm sure, but that is something VERY IMPORTANT to know.

What other medications is this patient on? Agree with others, we need more information before we can help you. Also, curious as to the diagnosis, what did the pt actually have going on?

Was it a regular, formed bowel movement? Was it diarrhea? Color? Any frank blood noted? How bad was the pain?

Why didn't you assess the abdomen when he began complaining of abdominal pain? Any change in patient condition requires further assessment, something you'll learn later I'm sure, but that is something VERY IMPORTANT to know.

What other medications is this patient on? Agree with others, we need more information before we can help you. Also, curious as to the diagnosis, what did the pt actually have going on?

DX: she stated: "took care of a male today dx: pneumonia. well he was taking 10 MeQ of potassium and refused b/c he said it hurt his stomach. so no dose of that today."

Other than why he was gettinng K+, what was the form? Liquid, tablet (sustaine release or?). K+ is irritating to the stomach and common s/s is abd pain. However, that does not reflect the instructor's statement of a 'hot abd". From the minimal description we received, the pt's s/s seem to be more than stomach irritation.

[medicrn13]

DX: she stated: "took care of a male today dx: pneumonia. well he was taking 10 MeQ of potassium and refused b/c he said it hurt his stomach. so no dose of that today."

Other than why he was gettinng K+, what was the form? Liquid, tablet (sustaine release or?). K+ is irritating to the stomach and common s/s is abd pain. However, that does not reflect the instructor's statement of a 'hot abd". From the minimal description we received, the pt's s/s seem to be more than stomach irritation.

I meant in regards to his abdomen, what was the diagnosis of his abdominal pain.

thanks everyone, it was appendicitis. just a slang word used for it. The reason I didnt reasses him for his abdominal pain was b/c when i walked in there he was leaned over the bedside table and moaning. I (student) went and got his actual nurse and she came in there and talked to him. My instructor told me they thought he had a hot abdomen and i didnt know what it was and she told me to look online and find it.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

It was a good learning opportunity, but an instructor asking you to look up slang terms just makes your life difficult. "Acute abdomen" would be just as beneficial without the frustration.

If someone complains about abd pain post KCl you can offer the med with food, or delay the dose til after a meal. I would also recommend doing a quick abd assessment before giving po meds. A patient may need to be NPO at that point, or need nausea meds, or be constipated. You'd want to go in a different direction depending on your assessment and the patient's vitals/acuity. New severe pain is always an emergency until proven otherwise.