Acute Health Problems and Surgical Nursing: A Holistic Care Approach

Running head: DIPLOMA IN NURSING 1
Diploma in Nursing
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

DIPLOMA IN NURSING 2
Task 1
1. Explain all following acute health problems. List at least two signs and symptoms
and two causes (each). (30-40 words each)
a) Acute renal disorders
It occurs when the kidneys suddenly become unable to filter waste products from the
blood. Its signs and symptoms include irregular heartbeat along with breath shortness and can be
caused by blood or fluid loss along with liver failure (Chawla, Eggers, Star & Kimmel, 2014).
b) Acute gastrointestinal disorders
They are disorders engaging the digestive tract and the accessory organs of digestion, the
pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Its signs and symptoms include indigestion, nausea and
vomiting and may be caused by cancer of the digestive system along with previous bowel
surgery (Drossman, 2016).
c) Acute neurological disorder
It is a disease of the spine, brain along with the nerves that connect them. Its signs and
symptoms are poor cognitive abilities and decreased alertness and can be caused by genetic
disorders and congenital abnormalities (Patel et al., 2016).
d) Acute pain
It is a type of depression that lasts less than three to six months typically or which is
directly related to soft tissue damage like a sprained ankle. Its symptoms are numbness, fatigue
along with weight loss and it is caused by injuries, infections, and appendicitis (Stanton-Hicks,
2018).

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e) Acute respiratory disorders
They are disorders which may interfere with normal breathing and can affect either the
upper or lower respiratory system. Its symptoms are a sore throat, body aches together with a
cough, and it is caused by acute pharyngitis, common cold along with bronchitis (Rochester,
Fairburn & Crouch, 2014).
f) acute unconscious state
It is a coma during which a person is unresponsive of his environment. Its signs and
symptoms are closed eyes, irregular breathing along with depressed brainstem reflexes and is
caused by stroke, tumors, seizures or even traumatic brain injuries (Cooksley & Holland, 2017).
g) Angina
Angina is a discomfort or chest pain which occurs when a part of the heart muscle
receives less blood oxygen than usual. Its signs and symptoms are difficulty breathing along with
tightness and can be triggered by smoking, severe emotional stress along with exposure to
extreme temperatures (Bairey Merz et al., 2015).
h) burns
Burns are injuries primarily to the skin and underlying tissue. Signs and symptoms are
redness and tenderness or pain, and they may be caused by flame burns, hot liquid, sunburn or
electrical burns (Dinis-Oliveira et al., 2015).
i) cellulitis

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Cellulitis is a common bacterial skin infection. Its symptoms are redness or swelling and
pain in the affected area, and they are commonly caused by Streptococcus and Staphylococcus
bacteria when they enter through a cut on the skin (Linder & Malani, 2017).
j) deep vein thrombosis, venous thromboembolism
It occurs when a blood clot forms in one or more of the deep veins in the body generally
in the leg. Symptoms include pain in the leg and red or discolored skin on the leg and can be
caused by injury to a vein, surgery or certain medications (Ageno et al., 2016).
k) Dehydration
Dehydration occurs when the body lacks much water as it is required. Signs and
symptoms include the dry or sticky mouth, headache, dehydrated skin along with rapid heartbeat
and it is caused by excessive sweating and vomiting (Hooper et al., 2015).
l) Fractures
Fractures are broken bones, and its signs and symptoms include pain or swelling, warmth,
bruising or redness and obvious deformity in the injured part. They are caused by bad falls,
trauma or automobile accident (Miller et al., 2016).
m) Hemorrhage
Hemorrhage is when blood vessels rupture due to injury leading to excessive bleeding. Its
symptoms include breath shortness along with a headache, and they can be caused by trauma or
damage to a blood vessel and aneurysms or weak spots in the artery (McEvoy, Farrell, Brett &
Looby, 2016).

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n) head injury
It is any sort of damage to the scalp, brain or skull. Signs and symptoms include a
headache, nausea along with a loss of consciousness and they can be caused by falls or blows,
accidents or physical assaults (Corps, Roth & McGavern, 2015).
o) myocardial infarction
It is also called heart attack which occurs when one of the heart’s coronary arteries is
blocked. Its signs and symptoms are chest pain, breathlessness along with nausea and is caused
by thrombus along with atherosclerosis (Tegn et al., 2016).
p) renal calculi
Renal calculi also called kidney stones are hard deposits made of minerals and salts
which form inside the kidneys. Symptoms include small amounts of urine along with pain on
urination and are caused by an excessively acidic environment and lack of water in the body
(Lieske et al., 2015).
q) Sepsis
Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection. Its symptoms include severe
weakness, unconsciousness along with high heart rate. It is caused by pneumonia, kidney
infection along with abdominal infection (Clarke, Bird, Kakuchi, Littlewood & van Hamel
Parsons, 2015).
r) Shock
It is a life-threatening state which occurs when the body is not getting enough flow of
blood. Signs and symptoms are rapid, shallow breathing, nausea along with the loss of

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consciousness and it is caused by dehydration, heart failure and severe allergic reaction
(Mouncey et al., 2015).
2. Enlist key principles of surgical nursing. Explain briefly following surgical
procedures/terminology. (30-40 words each)
a) elective/emergency surgery
The key principles are measuring the generally predictable emergency/ elective surgery
workload, consultant surgeon-led models of emergency/ elective surgery care, allocation of
operating theatre resources matching to the emergency workload and standard hours scheduling
where clinically appropriate.
b) General, local, epidural and spinal anesthetic and peripheral nerve block
Always aspirate before infiltration along with correct choices of infiltrative analgesia
versus topical analgesia.
c) Amputation
It is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness or surgery. Key principles are that
levels of amputation are chosen not by the prosthesis but by the level of involvement or injury,
and the length of amputation can be preserved by coverage with split grafts over muscles or with
free vascularized flaps.
d) Open reduction
The key principles are the reduction to restore anatomical relationships, providing
absolute or relative stability, preservation of the supply of blood along with early and safe
mobilization.