Healthcare Case Study: Assessment and Treatment of Concussion in an Elderly Patient

Running head: Health care
Health care
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Case summary
a) Mr John is an old man aged 82 years who fell from his bike and fell unconscious.
Due to this minor accident, he suffered minor abrasion in his elbow and tear in the skin. He
does not have any serious history of injury in his head. Initially, He complained of mild
headache and fatigue after the accident. The injury in his head did not cause any blood loss or
severe pain from a mild blow to the head. Mr John was suffering from hypertension but did
not take any medication. He suffered from mild nausea and haziness after the hit from
motorcycle but did not lose consciousness (Ayres 2018). Most cranial cerebral injuries are
due to compression injury in the head. In concussion, the patients are less able to concentrate
and often results in patients’ loss of interest, which was seen in Mr John's condition. Mr John
claimed that he did not have any problem in movement or stiffness in the neck. He was
feeling mild pain in his head and slight dizziness. The dizziness can be from the fall in the
minor accident. Aged persons must be careful as their physiology is weak and are prone to
fall due to control in balance.
Mr John was suffering from a mild headache but he was unable to determine the
reason for her pain. He was feeling the dizziness from the time he was hit during the
motorcycle accident. Therefore, it can be said that the pain and the conditions have arisen
from the minor blow in his head. From the symptoms, it can be said that she was suffering
from grade one concussion as the symptoms prevailed for a long time. The old man had no
such medical history and never experienced a headache like this. Hence, there may not be
other reasons for his sudden headache. In concussion, the headache is related to ‘slowed
down’ feeling with no such throbbing action. When a person suffers from hypertension the
person often suffers from a mild headache. Mr John was suffering from hypertension but
never took any form of medication, which is vital in such age (Benetos et al. 2016). In old

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age, even a minor injury can prove fatal and be a traumatic experience for them. Therefore,
Mr John could not the injury due to the accident and lost consciousness. As reported Mr John
lost consciousness and that lead to the accident. It is important to control hypertension as
hypertension can result in sudden dizziness before the accident took place (Brooks et al.
2016). John denied any pain in neck or stiffness, which minimizes the risk factor from the
accident and could make him paralyzed. Mr John stayed quiet last night in his dinner as
stated by his wife but there is no such psychological distress, as we know Mr. John lives with
his wife and his son pays a visit sometimes.
Review from patients notes
b) From the patient's notes and symptoms displayed by him in the emergency
department, it can be said that the patient is suffering from concussion. The symptoms of
dizziness after the hit of her head can be correlated to a concussion. There is a need to
propose a clinical assessment as there may be serious consequences that may affect several
aspects of brain functioning. Neuropsychological testing can be conducted to establish the
symptoms that Mr. John is suffering from. Electroencephalogram readings can be a vital form
of assessment that can state the electrical activity of neuron and are effective in detecting
changes in the electrical procession of the brain (Buford 2016). A psychosocial assessment is
an important nursing assessment, which assesses cognitive function, evaluate concentration
levels and checking for hallucinations. The assessment would help to evaluate the symptoms
of Mr. John and find out the clinical reasoning of her condition.
It is important from the assessment point of view to ascertain if Mr. John was
suffering from any kind of psychological distress that triggered the condition. Such a form of
comprehensive assessment aids in evidence-based care to the patients. This kind of
assessment needs to be regularly performed and evaluate the progress in health care plan