NURS 680A Advanced Health/Physical Assessment Week 4 Discussion Forum

NURS 680A Advanced Health/Physical Assessment Week 4 Discussion Forum

NURS 680A Advanced Health/Physical Assessment Week 4 Discussion Forum

Complete your weekly discussion prompt.

Discuss a HEENT case on a topic of interest and post for class discussion.

  • The case may be a real patient you have actually cared for or one that you heard about, read about, or made up. S uggested topics include:
    • Allergic rhinitis
    • Otitis media
    • Otitis external
    • Conjunctivitis (viral and bacterial)
    • Sinusitis
    • Bells palsy
    • Paroditis
    • TMJ
    • Mononucleosis
    • Tonsillitis
    • Mouth cancer
    • Strep throat
  • Include a rationale as to why you think this is a good topic for graduate nursing students to learn.
  • Indicate if the case represents something you would expect to see in an outpatient or inpatient setting.
  • Which guidelines would you use to develop a treatment plan?

Respond to at least two (2) of your classmates’ or your instructor’s posts. Your responses should include elements such as follow-up questions, a further exploration of points made in the initial post, or requests for further clarification or explanation on some points made.

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Sample Solution

Mouth Cancer

The patient with oral cancer who was picked for this discussion is a patient. Since this is a member of my family, this case holds a special place in my heart. At the age of 69, my father-in-law Zaid received an oral cancer diagnosis. He had 14 kids of his own. He had a history of diabetes and hypertension, which were both managed with diet and herbal remedies. He used to chew tobacco in his adolescent and young adult years, but he stopped 20 years ago. never used alcohol or other drugs before. Within 11 months of the cancer’s discovery, it had already progressed to his lungs. According to C. A. Glass (2021, March 30). “Older people are more likely to develop oral cancer. Approximately 90% of oral cancer is diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma. Male-to-female predominance is 2 to 1; oral cancer is higher in African American than Caucasian adults. The death rate is fairly high for oral cancer; it is secondary to the cancer being diagnosed in the late stages of development.Patients diagnosed with oral cancer are at greater risk of developing cancer in another part of the body, such as the lung, larynx, esophagus, or other site. Therefore, follow-up exams are recommended for the remainder of the patient’s life.” The components that are needed in the plan of care in a patient like him will be comfort care and family support. The social services department involved at the hospital was not very supportive in this case. The family needed a lot of support especially since there were multiple siblings involved in the decision-making process, therefore. If I stepped out and acted as a practitioner, I would have provided the family with social support services and end-of-life education. As providers, this can be such a difficult topic to discuss, yet it is important to be realistic yet informative and resourceful to the clients and the client’s families. Other than the social support aspect, the patient with oral cancer undergoing chemotherapy will have the following problems according to The Oral Cancer Foundation. (n.d.). “The most common oral problems occurring after radiation and chemotherapy are mucositis (an inflammation of the mucous membranes in the mouth), infection, pain, and bleeding. Other possible complications might include dehydration and malnutrition, commonly brought on by difficulties in swallowing (dysphagia). Radiation therapy to the head and neck may injure the glands that produce saliva (xerostomia), or damage the muscles and joints of the jaw and neck (trismus). These treatments may also cause hypervascularization (reduction in blood vessels and blood supply) of the bones of the maxilla or mandible (the bones of the mouth). In addition, treatments may affect other forms of dental disease (caries, or soft tissue complications), or even cause bone death (osteonecrosis).” As a practitioner, we must have the ability to provide comfort measures, yet involve the patient in the decision-making process at the same time. In this case, once the first round of treatment was not responsive, the patient no longer wanted to continue, and the family was upset, but the wishes of the patient needed to be honored, this was difficult for the family and the practitioners to see, yet at the end, the patients’ wishes were honored and respected and he passed away peacefully under hospice services.

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