Pneumonia Case Study

What Do You Think Could be Contributing to Her Recent History of Falling? What Signs of Infection (Pneumonia) is She Showing?

From the case study, the patient has been availed with diuretic drugs, which mean she has some renal problems. One of the effects of renal problems is the weakness of the system (Naser & Shaath, 2016). Therefore renal compilations and poor eating and drinking habits could be contributing to her recent history of falling. The signs of pneumonia infection that the patient is showing include high fever, shortness of breath fatigue, nausea, chest pain, low appetite, as well as coughing. According to Ndu et al. (2015) outlines that shortness in breath which worsens when the patient takes long or deep inhalations.

What Should Nurses Do to Prevent the Patient from Entering the Downward Spiral of the Geriatric Cascade?

Frail elderly patients are generally at risk of entering into the downward spiral of the geriatric cascade (Dean et al., 2017). With this knowledge and the fact that the patient is frail, the nurses can ensure the patient does not enter the downward spiral of the geriatric cascade by assessing her functional status before and during hospitalization. Additionally, nurses should observe any development of delirium (Dean et al., 2017). The reason is that these two actions ensure that any signs of the downward spiral are blocked as soon as possible, thus preventing the patient from entering the downward spiral.

When She is Ready for Discharge from Acute Aare, What Issues Should be Addressed in Discharge Planning?

The issues of diet should be addressed in discharge planning since the patient cannot be under medication and fail to eat a proper diet. Mainly, the intake of fluids should be addressed.  Along with the issue of nutrition, reaction to medicines should also be addressed in discharge planning since some patients may react differently to certain drugs and worsen the medical condition.

What Services Might She Require Upon Discharge?

Urinalysis to ensure that the renal problem is resolved is one of the services that the patent may require upon discharge. Also, the examination of the virtual signs such as pulse rate and temperature are other services the patient may require upon discharge.

Reference

Dean, G. E., Weiss, C., Morris, J. L., & Chasens, E. R. (2017). Impaired sleep: A multifaceted geriatric syndrome. Nursing Clinics, 52(3), 387-404.

Ndu, I. K., Ekwochi, U., Osuorah, C. D., Onah, K. S., Obuoha, E., Odetunde, O. I., & Amadi, O. F. (2015). Danger signs of childhood pneumonia: caregiver awareness and care-seeking behavior in a developing country. International journal of pediatrics, 2015.

Naser, S. S. A., & Shaath, M. Z. (2016). Expert system urination problems diagnosis. World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 2(5), 9-19.