Health Variation 4 - Acute Life Threatening Conditions
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This document discusses acute life-threatening conditions in Health Variation 4, specifically focusing on UTI with severe sepsis. It covers the clinical presentation, symptoms, and treatment options. The importance of oxygen therapy and arterial blood gas analysis in monitoring and managing the condition is also discussed.
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Running head: HEALTH VARIATION 41 Health Variation 4 – Acute Life Threatening Conditions Student Name Institutional Affiliation
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HEALTH VARIATION 42 Health Variation 4 – Acute Life-Threatening Conditions Q. 1The clinical presentation of UTIs involves various signs or symptoms. The chief complaint by affected patients is a painful sensation when urinating (Artero et al., 2018). Mr. Kirkman is a 75-year old male who reports a burning sensation during urination and lower abdominal pain. Mr. Kirkman’s history gives a clue about his current condition. Mr. Kirkman’s old age and previous UTI recurrence are risk factors that may have triggered the diagnosis of urinary tract infection. Besides, his chronic bronchitis shows dictate the presence of compromised immunity. Mr. Kirkman’s condition deteriorates twenty-four hours following his placement on IV NaCl, IV Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and insertion of an indwelling catheter. His situation is an indicator of UTI with severe sepsis. Symptoms such as high temperature, rapid breathing, and rapid pulse rate characterize severe sepsis (Artero et al., 2018). Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that occurs in the body due to an inflammatory response to infections. In such scenarios, the body releases proinflammatory mediators into the blood to fight infections or wounds (Xu et al., 2017). In patients with urinary tract infections, their bodies release cytokines to fight bacterial infections, often caused byEscherichia coliand Proteus mirabilis.Notably, inflammatory responses are the underlying cause of severe sepsis in patients with UTI, and the cause of flushed faces. The proinflammatory mediators trigger the permeability of blood capillaries, which causes the dilation of blood vessels to allow the movement of mediators to the sites of infection(Xu et al., 2017). As a result, the blood pressure drops, and it is evident in Mr. Kirkman’s low blood pressure:80/42mmHg in response to the dilation mechanism. The changes in a patient’s oxygenation status may indicate sepsis in response to infections. Under septic conditions, the respiratory rates rise to compensate for the reduced
HEALTH VARIATION 43 oxygen levels in tissues and vital organs. The respiratory rates increase to reduce CO2 levels and maintain a normal pH. It is evident in Mr. Kirkman’s situation whose respiratory rate is 35. Besides, the reference range of pulse oximeter readings (SPO2) is between 94% to 100% (Serpa, Schultz, & Festic, 2015). The readings dictate the saturation of hemoglobin with oxygen in peripheral arterial blood. Values before the minimum range are deliberated as low, and it occurs in response to poor organ oxygenation status, just as in Mr. Kirkman’s situation whose SPO2 reading is 82%. More also, the severity of a septic condition affects the sinus rhythm or heartbeat that starts at the sinus node. The reference range for a normal is between 60 to 100 beats per minute; however, these values may be higher in patients with severe sepsis that arise as a result of the progression of UTI infections. Under septic conditions, just as in Mr. Kirkman’s condition, the heart’s ventricular contractions try to increase blood supply to the sinus node and other organs in response to ischemia (Joyner, & Casey, 2015) The patient uses the accessory muscles while breathing to boost his inspiratory capacity. The primary survey on examination of Mr. Kirman’s state after 24 hours indicates that he is speaking in single words. As evident from the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Mr. Kirkan’s verbal response of 4 dictates that he is experiencing a disoriented conversation; however, an overall GSC value of 13 shows that the patient has a minor injury. The GCS scale measures eye- opening (E), verbal (V), and motor (M) responses: it quantifies a patient’s neurological dysfunction after an injury (Seymour et al., 2016). The patient’s E4, V4, M5 shows that his eye- opening is spontaneous, shows disoriented conversation and localizes to pain. Besides, the progression of the urinary tract infections to bladders causes pain on the lower abdomen. Pain arises from inflammation when the body releases the immune cells to fight infections. From the
HEALTH VARIATION 44 pain scale (6/10), the patient is experiencing moderate pain. Also, the GCS more response scale indicates that Mr. Kirkman localizes to this pain. Equally important, the progression of the urinary tract infections to severe sepsis may have a dehydrating effect that will affect the quantity of urine and its color as it is evident from the patient’s dark urine. Q 2.Prioritizing the use of Oxygen Therapy to ameliorate the UTI with severe sepsis condition (Polat et al., 2017) Rationale:For patients like Mr. Kirkman, the highest priority for the nurses is to prevent the progression of acute life-threatening conditions that may lead to organ and tissue failure and ultimately death. Oxygen therapy is a novel treatment option for UTI with severe sepsis (Perdrizet, 2017).It involves the administration of oxygen at ambient pressure levels to boost the levels of dissolved oxygen available in the blood circulatory system. According to Polat et al., (2017), sepsis is an inflammatory response in response to infections that often leads to hemodynamic alterations. The common signs and symptoms of severe sepsis following UTI infections as exhibited by the patient include increased heartbeats, elevated body temperature, hypotension, and confusion (Polat et al., 2017). The administration of oxygen will rescue Mr. Kirkman’s metabolic acidosis state by maintaining aerobic respiration. More also, oxygenated tissues help prevent inflammatory responses; enhances the wound repair; boosts the activity of the lymphocytes; and augment the bactericidal activity of microbes (Polat et al., 2017). The novel practice will activate the signal transduction pathways due to the production of reactive species, and in response, the tissues will release proinflammatory mediators which exhibit pathophysiological reactions toward urinary tract infections (Perdrizet, 2017). Conclusively, low- risk oxygen therapy ought to be the nurses’ highest priority in preventing the progression of acute life-threatening conditions following sepsis in patients with UTI infections.
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HEALTH VARIATION 45 Q 3.Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis plays a vital role in monitoring a patient’s acid-base balance, gas exchange, and spontaneous respiration (Mohammed & Abdelatief, 2016). In Mr. Kirkman’s case, ABG analysis helps monitor the severity of his UTI sepsis. Respiratory and metabolic processes maintain a standard blood pH range of 7.35-7.45. However, an imbalance in these parameters can make the blood pH drop or rise resulting in acidic and alkalotic conditions respectively (Wagner, 2015). Mr. Kirkman’s pH result is 7.25, which indicates an acidotic state due to insufficient quantities of oxygen in the tissues and high carbon dioxide levels. Therefore, alveolar ventilation determines the range of partial pressure of carbon dioxide. According to Mohammed & Abdelatief (2016), any excess amount of carbon dioxide pools with water to produce an acidic mixture, and this alters blood pH. In an acidic situation, just as Mr. Kirkman’s state, the body eliminates carbon dioxide; hence the lower levels shown by his results. Also, the standard values for the partial pressure of carbon dioxide is between 35-45 mmHg. Mr. Kirkman’s increased rate of respiratory rate of 35 breaths per minute decreases the PaCO2 levels as he tries to achieve normal oxygenation status (Larkin, & Zimmanck, 2015). Besides, the elderly man’s low base excess (BE) is a sign of metabolic acidosis. BE is the quantity of base that corrects pH deviation: a positive value indicates alkalosis. Mr. Kirkman’s -6 mmol/L value means that he is under metabolic acidosis due to poor ventilation. The low values are compensation for Mr. Kirkman’s increased respiration rate to increase the blood pH while reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in circulation. Bicarbonate (HCO3) is a base as well as a metabolic constituent. An increase in pH elevates the levels of bicarbonate in the blood. Similarly, a low pH corresponds with low bicarbonate levels since the body is incapable of forming bicarbonate ions. According to Wagner (2015), base deficit and excess acidic conditions result in metabolic acidosis. Mr. Kirkman’s
HEALTH VARIATION 46 ABG results show that he has low HCO3 levels that could be due to his low blood pH caused by inadequate oxygen supply. As evident from the primary survey, the patient’s body seeks to achieve a homeostatic balance by using the accessory muscles to increase the sinus rhythm and respiratory rate. Proper blood ventilation ought to bring the pH and HCO3 levels to normal range (Larkin, & Zimmanck, 2015). Even so, Mr. Kirkman’s ABG levels indicate high lactate levels in the blood. The standard range of blood lactate is between 0.3 to 0.8 mmol/L; however, the elderly man’s levels are at 3.2 mmol/L. The anaerobic condition that ensue sepsis drives metabolic processes into the production of lactate; more also, reduced oxygen levels in tissues slows the clearance of serum lactate.
HEALTH VARIATION 47 References Artero, A., Inglada, L., Gomez-Belda, A., Capdevila, J. A., Diez, L. F., Arca, A., … & de la Fuente, J. (2018). The clinical impact of bacteremia on outcomes in elderly patients with pyelonephritis or urinary sepsis: A prospective multicenter study.PloS one, 13(1), e0191066. Joyner, M. J., & Casey, D. P. (2015). Regulation of increased blood flow (hyperemia) to muscles during exercise: a hierarchy of competing physiological needs.Physiological reviews, 95(2), 549-601. Larkin, B. G., & Zimmanck, R. J. (2015). Interpreting arterial blood gases successfully.AORN journal, 102(4), 343-357. Mohammed, H. M., & Abdelatief, D. A. (2016). Easy blood gas analysis: Implications for nursing.Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis, 65(1), 369-376. Perdrizet, G. A. (2017). Chronic diseases as barriers to oxygen delivery: a unifying hypothesis of tissue reoxygenation therapy.InOxygen Transport to Tissue XXXIX, 15-20. Springer, Cham. Polat, G., Ugan, R. A., Cadirci, E., & Halici, Z. (2017). Sepsis and Septic Shock: Current Treatment Strategies and New Approaches.The Eurasian journal of medicine, 49(1), 53- 58. doi:10.5152/eurasianjmed.2017.17062 Serpa, N. A., Schultz, M. J., & Festic, E. (2015).Ventilatory support of patients with sepsis or septic shock in resource limited settings.Intensive care medicine, 42(1), 100-103. doi: 10.1007/s00134-015-4070-0 Seymour, C. W., Liu, V.X., Iwashyna, T. J., Brunkhorst, F. M., Rea, T. D., Scherag, A., … & Angus, D. C. (2016). Assessment of Clinical Criteria for Sepsis: For the Third
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HEALTH VARIATION 48 International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3).JAMA, 315(8), 762-774. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0288 Wagner. P. D. (2015). The physiological basis of pulmonary gas exchange: implications for clinical interpretation of arterial blood gases.European Respiratory Journal, 45(1), 227- 243. Xu, R., Lin, F., Bao, C., & Wang, F. S. (2017). Mechanism of C5a-induced immunologic derangement in sepsis.Cellualr & molecular immunology, 14(9), 792.