Case Study For Patient Experiencing Right-Sided Lower Abdominal Pain
Mrs. Carey, a 75-year-old Pacific Islander American woman, reports to the clinic with her adult daughter, whom she lives with. She is experiencing right-sided lower abdominal pain for the past 3 days. She reports that her mother began complaining of bloating sensation, right-sided pain that was not relieved with antacids and acetaminophen. Her daughter reports that her mother seems to be confused, which is not her typical orientation since her mother still drives and is an active volunteer in the community center where she is the receptionist 3 days a week. Past medical history includes osteoarthritis in which the patient takes over-the-counter NSAIDs daily and long-term constipation, which she treats with herbal products and over-the-counter remedies. Her social history: smoked one pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years. She limits her physical activity to weekly housekeeping and walking from parking lots to stores. Case Study For Patient Experiencing Right-Sided Lower Abdominal Pain
– Vital Signs: Temperature 99F, Pulse 80, Respirations 22, Blood Pressure 135/80
– Chief Complaint: Lower right-sided pain of 3-day duration.
Describe how you would address the patient’s needs and what may be included in your patient-centered treatment plan.
Lower Right-sided Pain
The case is about a 75-year-old woman experiencing right-sided lower abdominal pain for the past three days. One way to address the patient’s needs is to administer alternative pain medications other than NSAIDs. Due to her osteoarthritis, the patient takes NSAIDs, which help to relieve pain. However, NSAIDs contribute to constipation, which cause right-sided lower abdominal pain (Tai & McAlindon, 2021). Administering alternative pain medications will help to manage the lower right-sided pain that the patient is experiencing currently and pain from osteoarthritis. Therefore, one way to address the patient’s needs is to give alternative pain medication for osteoarthritis and for the lower right-sided pain.
Another way to address the patient’s needs is to create a diet plan to enable them to make the right food choices. The patient’s chief complaint is caused by her issue with long-term constipation. She also experiences a bloating sensation which is not relieved by antacids. Developing a diet plan for the patient will enable them to make the right food choices and consume food that does not cause bloating and also prevents constipation
(Bellini et al., 2021)Case Study For Patient Experiencing Right-Sided Lower Abdominal Pain. Thus, developing a diet plan for this patient is another way to address their needs.
The patient’s nutritional preferences is one element to include in their patient-centered treatment plan. The patient’s lower right-sided pain arises from her history with long-term constipation and therefore, it is prudent to change their diet to include more fiber, which improves constipation and minimizes bloating (Bellini et al., 2021). The diet plan should be tailored to meet the patient’s preferences and needs to heighten the chance of adherence. Patient-centered care focuses on meeting the patient’s preferences, needs, and values and for this reason, the diet plan should contain their nutritional preferences (Kwame & Petrucka, 2021)Case Study For Patient Experiencing Right-Sided Lower Abdominal Pain. Thus, the patient diet preferences is a crucial element to consider in their patient-centered treatment plan.
References
Bellini, M., Tonarelli, S., Barracca, F., Rettura, F., Pancetti, A., Ceccarelli, L., & Rossi, A. (2021). Chronic constipation: Is a nutritional approach reasonable?. Nutrients, 13(10), 3386. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13103386
Kwame, A., & Petrucka, P. M. (2021). A literature-based study of patient-centered care and communication in nurse-patient interactions: Barriers, facilitators, and the way forward. BMC nursing, 20(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00684-2
Tai, F. W. D., & McAlindon, M. E. (2021). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the gastrointestinal tract. Clinical Medicine, 21(2), 131. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmed.2021-0039 Case Study For Patient Experiencing Right-Sided Lower Abdominal Pain