NURS 6512 Week 6 Essay Assignment
Assessing the Abdomen /Gastrointestinal System
It is important to begin the assessment by obtaining a thorough history of abdominal or gastrointestinal complaints. You will need to elicit information about any complaints of gastrointestinal disease or disorders. Gastrointestinal disease can have various signs and symptoms, including change in appetite, weight gain or loss, dysphagia, intolerance to certain foods, nausea and vomiting, change in bowel habits, and abdominal pain (Jarvis, 2016).NURS 6512 Week 6 Essay Assignment
Physical examination techniques should be used in an organized manner from least disturbing or invasive to most invasive to the patient (Jarvis, 2016). Inspection is first, as it is non-invasive. Auscultation is performed following inspection; the abdomen should be auscultated before percussion or palpation to prevent production of false bowel sounds.
It is also important to assess abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal symptoms, such as distention, nausea, and vomiting. After eliciting information about any experienced signs or symptoms of gastrointestinal disease, ask about your patients past abdominal or gastrointestinal history, medications, and nutritional status. The patient history is extremely important in assessing abdominal pain. Pain may be chronic or acute and related to inflammation, infection, allergy, or food intolerance. It can also result from trauma or obstruction. There are also a few physical exam techniques that can be used to assess acute abdominal pain. These are the iliopsoas muscle test, obturator test, and Bloomberg test (Porter & Kaplan, 2016; Wilson & Giddens, 2017).NURS 6512 Week 6 Essay Assignment
This chapter deals with newborn abdomen assessment. Techniques used include observation, auscultation, and palpation. On observation the abdomen can vary from nearly flat to slightly distended, depending on how recently the infant has been fed and if air has been swallowed while crying. The umbilical cord is normally white. Green color may rarely be an indicator of infection. Redness encircling the cord is a sign of omphalitis. Auscultation should be performed before palpation because it can interfere with normal bowel sounds as well as cause the infant to become agitated. Auscultation should be performed with warmed stethoscope while the infant is quiet. Breath sounds may be audible when the upper abdomen is auscultated. Palpation is the last step in the abdominal examination because it often results in agitation. Muscle tone should be assessed at this point in the examination. Hypertension of the abdominal musculature may indicate pain or peritoneal irritation.
A nursing health assessment of the gastrointestinal system involves the examination of the abdomen and abdominal contents. A gastrointestinal assessment is always included as part of a routine head-to-toe assessment. And, as with any other system, knowing possible symptoms and how to focus the interview and physical assessment are important skills for nursing students to have.
To begin the study of an assessment of the gastrointestinal system, review your anatomy and physiology of the system. Some helpful facts about the gastrointestinal system are included in the article 11 Facts About the Gastrointestinal System Every Nursing Student Should Know. During a gastrointestinal assessment, a nursing student will use the skills of inspection, auscultation, percussion, and palpation. This article contains 9 Tips for Performing a Nursing Health Assessment on the Gastrointestinal System.NURS 6512 Week 6 Essay Assignment
Tip #1 – Gather Information on Chief Complaints or Symptoms.
There are a variety of upper and lower gastrointestinal complaints or symptoms. Gathering health information about the patient’s chief complaints and symptoms will help narrow the diagnosis of the gastrointestinal system. Some chief complaints of the gastrointestinal system include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, change in bowel habit, diarrhea, and constipation.
Nausea and vomiting
Nausea is a sensation that comes in waves in the back of the throat, the abdomen or epigastric region that causes the patient to have the urge to vomit. Vomiting is the forceful voluntary or involuntary emptying of the stomach. This is a means of the gastrointestinal tract getting rid of an irritation. Sensory fibers stimulate the vomiting center. The abdominal muscles contract, the lower esophageal sphincter opens and the contents of the stomach are regurgitated out.NURS 6512 Week 6 Essay Assignment