Brain Injury Induced Concussion

Running head: NURSING
CASE STUDY ON NURSING
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CASE STUDY
Nursing Case Study – John Wells
A concussion is a form of a brain injury which is mainly caused by trauma, shock or a
major blow to the head of an individual (Zuckerman et al. 2017). The delicate cells present
inside the brain get damaged as a result of a sudden shock which can further damage the
proper functioning of the brain. Concussion can be sustained by an individual for a number of
reasons like ports, accidental falls or car crashes. Athletes who play basketball, football or
wrestling are at a major risk of suffering from a concussion (Patricios et al. 2018). It is
expected of the person to feel dizzy, nausea, confusion and fatigue. There is also a possibility
of irritability, excessive crying or changes in the sleeping and eating pattern among the
patients who have suffered from a concussion (Grool et al. 2016). In the following report, a
patient named John Wells has been brought to the hospital after suffering a concussion. The
first three stages of the clinical report cycle will be discussed to understand his case from the
point of view of a registered nurse.
Mr John Wells has been brought to the hospital by his wife, Mavis after she observed
him be feeling dizzy, nauseating and experiencing a headache. When he was questioned
further by his wife, it was clear that he was experiencing difficulty in recollecting the tasks
that he had undertaken in the morning. John is an 82-year-old man who has suffered a hit in
the head with a skin tear while riding a motorbike without the helmet in his farm (Sone et al.
2017). There is an increased risk at this age to lose balance and fall which might result in a
grave injury in the head. His choice of not wearing a helmet has turned out to be causing fatal
symptoms leading to a suspected concussion. He is admitted in the emergency department of
the hospital because of the symptoms that he has been presenting with. The patient was
closely monitored by the registered nurse with administration of mild painkillers for the
constant headache. The medical history of Mr John has not been mentioned in the case study.
The wife of the patient had called up her son to assist them in travelling to the hospital for

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CASE STUDY
treatment. When the patient was brought in, the first thing that was assessed is whether he
was suffering from any sort of external bleeding. It was observed, that he indeed has an
external injury in the form of a skin tear. The registered nurse cleaned the wound and sealed
it with a bandage to avoid the spread of infection. In addition to this, there is also a high
probability of the patient experiencing internal bleeding in the form of a haemorrhage. If it
gets untreated for a long time, it may turn out to be fatal for the patient. It is usual for elderly
patients to lose balance and sustain a head injury. In the event of a patient suffering a
concussion, it is very likely for them to not acknowledge
To understand the situation of the patient medically, several assessments need to be
conducted to make it easier for the nursing professionals and the physicians to properly
provide the treatment. When Mr John was brought in, his orthostatic vital parameters like
blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate and the oxygen saturation level were assessed. In
addition to this, it was also assessed whether there was any external bleeding which might
have taken place due to cuts or lacerations in the head. In case of patients who have suffered
a head injury, their blood pressure is expected to be elevated than the normal level due to less
amount of oxygen transferred from the heart to other parts of the body. Due to this, the heart
has to work more to push the blood which makes the body temperature of the individual go
up (Choe 2016). It is because of this reason that the body temperature of Mr John will be
measured. These are the objective data that will be obtained by the registered nurse on duty.
During the assessment, subjective data from the patient needs to be gathered to
understand what he is feeling. The patient would have to share the areas where distress is felt.
It is shared by the patient that he has been experiencing headache, fatigue, nausea and a loss
in his appetite (Elkington & Hughes 2017). On further questioning, he told that when he
returned in the afternoon, he was still feeling dizzy and had headaches. The nurse, then
applied ice packs on the head of the patient to relieve him of the constant headache with