Contexts of Practice: The Older Person and Family

Contexts of practice: the older person and family

Contents
Case study 1.....................................................................................................................................3
Case study 2.....................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................7

Case study 1
Louis Stewart is an 86 year old man who has admitted to the hospitals with food poisoning with
vomiting tendency. He was admitted in the emergency department of the hospital but suddenly
he was behaving abnormally with the nursing staff in the hospitals. He became agitated and
insisted to leave hospital as he has found objects above the curtains. He could not follow any
instructions given by the nursing staff and doctors in the hospitals.
This scenario indicates the possibility of delirium to the patient. Delirium is a syndrome which
can be characterized by the altered level of consciousness, cognitive functions, and attention in
elderly persons. Delirium can be fatal if urgent medical attention is not given to the patients.
Agitation, hyperalart, hyperactive, hallucinations are the common symptoms of this disease
(CARING FOR OLDER AUSTRALIANS, 2019). It is most often observed within aged people
when they are admitted to the hospitals because of some other diseases. Food poisoning and
infection or drug toxicity can be reasons for delirium to the Louis Stewart. Not only that, age is a
huge factor in causing this syndrome. Signs and symptoms can fluctuate over time Mosk et al.,
2017). Acute infection may sometimes cause inefficient oxygen supply to the brain, which
influences the sensory dysfunctioning. The situation of Louis Stewart must be considered as the
medical emergency where the patient is marked with incoherent thinking, illogical speech,
inattention, etc. Thus it is vital to assess the patient appropriately to make a care plan in order to
recover his health condition (Bull, 2019).
Regular physical checkup is essential for Louise to understand his biological and physical
condition. This may include blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption
rate, etc. Blood test should be included in the treatment procedures to identify toxicity and
inflammation present inside the body if any. As Louise is admitted for his food infection, regular
medical treatment must be carried out by the nurses to reduce the infection. Food poisoning may
sometimes imbalance the ratio of sodium and potassium in the brain, which symptoms as
impairment in behavioral and communicative responses (Ahmed, Leurent and Sampson, 2014).
Administration of saline water would be helpful in this regard. In order to identify the problems,
24/7 hours monitoring tools with camera implementation would be beneficial to assess the