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Nursing Case Study (Doc)

   

Added on  2020-03-16

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Running head: NURSING CASE STUDY1Nursing Case StudyStudent’s NameUniversity

NURSING CASE STUDY2Question one: Causes, incidence and risk factors of liver cirrhosis and how it can impact on the patient and family The diseases is caused by several factors like alcohol, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and non-alcoholic fatty liver. The disease may have more than one cause in an individual depending on theirlifestyle and other factors[CITATION KTS14 \l 1033 ]. However, in the case of Nathan, the major cause of the disease is alcohol. This indicates that he is suffering from alcoholic liver cirrhosis that develops from drinking over ten years. He is a smoker and has been consuming two glasses of beerevery day for the past fifteen years. The life of Nathan has made him exposed to risk factors associated with the disease. This may have led him to develop the fatty liver disease which may have led to the development of the disease. The incidence and risk factors of liver cirrhosis in patients can be analyzed in phases based on the signs and symptoms that are reported by the patient. The condition is described as the result of all chronic liver disease[ CITATION Kar17 \l 1033 ]. From the clinical information, Nathan is in the asymptomatic phase or compensated cirrhosis which is followed by complications of portal hypertension, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and variceal bleeding which are signs that have been reported by the patient. The transition in the disease occurs at a rate of 5-7% per year which leads to liver cancer. The condition advances from one stage to another as the individual continues exposing the body to the conditions that accelerate the disease and move it from one stage to another. The impact of the liver cirrhosis is the burden it has to the family and the patient. The disease has a big impact on the finances and the time spend to take care of the patient. Nathan has been admitted in the dependency unit for investigation which makes him vulnerable this requiring the assistance of family. The longer he stays in the unit the higher the cost. According to Hung, Liang, Hsu, & Wei-Chen Tai (2017) add that when the stage develops to the severe stage with signs like yellowing of the skin, loss appetite, itching, bruising and swollen belly start to show, the patient develops psychological problems when he discovers that the body is slowly failing. Further,

NURSING CASE STUDY3the disease leads to stressful complications like salt restrictions and elimination of proteins in the diet which may lead to changes in normal family diet. Therefore, the disease carries both physical and psychological burdens to the patient and his family. Question two: Common signs and symptoms of the identified conditionLoss of appetiteThe liver and the brain communicate to regulate the appetite of the individual through increasing craving for food. Through the liver enzyme liver fructose-1, 6-bisphosphates, the appetite of an individual is controlled. Liver cirrhosis patients report loss of appetite because their liver is not functioning well thus leading to clogging fluids in the body system[ CITATION RSO10 \l 1033 ]. These fluids make the patient loose appetite since some of them need to be egested while others need to circulate in the whole body. Lack of a good functioning liver leads to loss of appetitesince the body is not functioning normally. Nathan has experienced this problem and has been struggling to eat all the time. Bruising Bruising is a result of weakened blood vessels due to diseases and decreased production of blood clotting factors by the diseased liver. Since the liver plays a major role in clotting of blood[ CITATION pGi04 \l 1033 ]. Then when the liver is weakened, there is a problem producing these clotting elements which makes the skins to easily get bruised even with the slightest compression.Loss of body weight The liver plays the role of filtering toxics from the body to ease digestion. When the liver isoverworked due to indulgence in alcohol, toxic residues build up. Loss of body weight is one of thefactors associated with loss of appetite[ CITATION KTS14 \l 1033 ]. This problem may also lead to build up of fats around the belly thus reducing the absorption of minerals into the body which leadsto weight loss. Ascites

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