Register to read the introduction…
Nursing Standard. 20, 39,67-75. Date of acceptance: October 10
…show more content…
This cavity contains the stomnch, spleen, hver., gall bladder, pancreas, kidneys, small intestine and large intestine. Additionally, some abdominal organs are contained within the pelvis: the bladder, caecum, appendix, sigmoid colon, rectum and tema le reproductive organs. When assessing a patient with abdominal pain, it is essential that the nurse understands abdominal anatomy and knows the position of the abdominal organs, Duringclinical exammation the abdomen is often divided into four quadrants: right upper quadrant, left upper quadrant, right lower quadrant and left lower quadrant (Higure 1). Patients may be able to localise the position of their abdominal pain within the four quadrants and this enables the nurse to decide which organs or structures may be involved. Figure 2 shows the location of some of these organs or structures. The structures located within the right upper quadrant are: right lobe of the hver; gall bladder; head of pancreas; duodenum; sections of the ascending and transverse colon. The structures located within the left upper quadrant are: left lobe of the liver; stomach; FIGURE 1 The four abdominal …show more content…
Which vital signs did you record? What other tests did you perform? What was your rationale? If you were teaching a nursing or medical student could you explain what you were looking for? Vital signs Monitoring the patient's vital signs allows the nurse to record an admission baseline, detect abnormalities that may Indicate a disease process and, importantly, spend time observing the patient. All patients with acute abdominal pain should have the following vital signs recorded. Témperafí/re This should be taken for every patient with abdominal pain. A raised temperature may suggest the presence of a bacterial infection or an inflammatory process such as appendicitis. The degree of temperature together with other observations such as heart rate and respiratory rate will indicate if the patient is septic and in need of urgent medical management (Kinnear 2004). Note that older patients with abdominal pain caused by an infectious process may not present with a raised temperature. Immune response appears to decline with age and this may increase the risk of infectious diseases and their complications (Miller 1996). Weori raie Tachycardia irelativetoage)may indicate pain, fear, infection or hypovolaemic or septic shock. A tachycardie patient with abdominal pain should be considered an emergency and in need of urgenr medical assessment. Be aware of patients who may not
This cavity contains the stomnch, spleen, hver., gall bladder, pancreas, kidneys, small intestine and large intestine. Additionally, some abdominal organs are contained within the pelvis: the bladder, caecum, appendix, sigmoid colon, rectum and tema le reproductive organs. When assessing a patient with abdominal pain, it is essential that the nurse understands abdominal anatomy and knows the position of the abdominal organs, Duringclinical exammation the abdomen is often divided into four quadrants: right upper quadrant, left upper quadrant, right lower quadrant and left lower quadrant (Higure 1). Patients may be able to localise the position of their abdominal pain within the four quadrants and this enables the nurse to decide which organs or structures may be involved. Figure 2 shows the location of some of these organs or structures. The structures located within the right upper quadrant are: right lobe of the hver; gall bladder; head of pancreas; duodenum; sections of the ascending and transverse colon. The structures located within the left upper quadrant are: left lobe of the liver; stomach; FIGURE 1 The four abdominal …show more content…
Which vital signs did you record? What other tests did you perform? What was your rationale? If you were teaching a nursing or medical student could you explain what you were looking for? Vital signs Monitoring the patient's vital signs allows the nurse to record an admission baseline, detect abnormalities that may Indicate a disease process and, importantly, spend time observing the patient. All patients with acute abdominal pain should have the following vital signs recorded. Témperafí/re This should be taken for every patient with abdominal pain. A raised temperature may suggest the presence of a bacterial infection or an inflammatory process such as appendicitis. The degree of temperature together with other observations such as heart rate and respiratory rate will indicate if the patient is septic and in need of urgent medical management (Kinnear 2004). Note that older patients with abdominal pain caused by an infectious process may not present with a raised temperature. Immune response appears to decline with age and this may increase the risk of infectious diseases and their complications (Miller 1996). Weori raie Tachycardia irelativetoage)may indicate pain, fear, infection or hypovolaemic or septic shock. A tachycardie patient with abdominal pain should be considered an emergency and in need of urgenr medical assessment. Be aware of patients who may not