Management Strategies for Mrs. Brown

Running head: MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 1
Management Strategies for Mrs. Brown
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MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 2
Introduction
Palliative care is an essential approach especially when caring for conditions connected
with life threatening diseases. Palliative care involves specialized medical care that is delivered
by a highly trained and specialized team of nurses, doctors and other specialists who provide
extra support to a patient and family through working collaboratively. Palliative care mainly
focuses on providing a reprieve from pain, mental stress, symptoms and physical stress at any
stage of a serious disease. Suitable palliative care help in promoting quality care by managing the
social, emotional, practical and spiritual concerns of people with life threatening conditions.
This essay aims to critically analyse two high priority nursing strategies that are essential in
palliative care.
Administrating supplemental oxygen
Administration of supplemental oxygen should be the highest priority strategy for
managing breathlessness. Mrs. Brown is suffering from acute breathlessness which has led to
exacerbations of COPD, and hence this means that there is no adequate saturation of oxygen in
her body. Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with
worsening health condition, deterioration in the way lungs function and increase in mortality.
Oxygen therapy involves the oxygen that is given at concentrations that are higher than that
found in the environmental air (Wickerson, 2018). Since Mrs. Brown has been diagnosed with
COPD when administering supplemental oxygen one should ensure that she is monitored
closely. It is because administering a large amount of oxygen in her body may cause a blunt in
her respiratory drive and also she has a potential danger of oxygen toxicity if she receives a
fraction of 0.5 to 0.6 of inspired oxygen concentration for a prolonged period.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 3
Nevertheless, the benefits of administering supplemental oxygen to a patient with acute
breathlessness will outweigh the risks (Mellor &Beausoleil, 2017). After administering
supplemental oxygen therapy, one should ensure that the patient is closely reassessed and
observed. As presented in the case scenario, Mrs. Brown condition is changing very quickly, and
hence close monitoring is important. The regular assessment of a patient with breathlessness
should not only focus on their physiological measurements, oxygen saturation, and respiratory
rate but should also focus on the patient conscious level (Holm et al, 2016).
The initiation of oxygen therapy can be through the use of nasal cannula that helps in
delivering low or moderate oxygen, the use of standard face mask that can administer a high
level of oxygen than the nasal cannulas and the use of Venturi system that allows for constant
concentration of oxygen to a patient (Fraser, Spooner, Dunster, Anstey & Corley, 2016). It is
essential to note that oxygen therapy should be viewed as medication and hence it should be
prescribed on the treatment chart as the way other pharmacological agents are prescribed. The
information included in the prescription should include oxygen flow rate, the delivery device and
the target concerning the range of oxygen saturation (Wickerson, 2018)
Oxygen therapy is useful in reducing symptoms associated with dyspnea through
breathing compressed air and supplemental oxygen. Mrs. Brown has been suffering from an
acute breathlessness which is deteriorating, oxygen therapy help in decreasing hyperinflation and
also decreases minute ventilation which in turn helps in reducing dyspnea. The use of
supplemental oxygen also helps in increasing the flow of oxygen which stimulates facial
receptors and upper airway which seems to be able to reduce dyspnea (Pisani et al, 2017).