Nursing Care for GI Bleeding
Acute Gastrointestinal or GI hemorrhage is the bleeding along the gastrointestinal tract. This condition is mostly influenced by factors such as previous major surgery, renal failure, damaged liver, alcohol abuse, and exposure to major pain conditions that involve the use of NSAIDs treatment. GI patients constitute 10% of all emergency cases reported in hospitals in the United States. Reason being that most patients suffering from GI bleeding don’t even know they are sick until the last minute when the condition has deteriorated, and they can barely stand or breathe. GI bleeding is hard to diagnose because you cannot see it immediately, touch, or assess the condition with the eyes. A lot of laboratory tests are therefore required to establish the cause and location of bleeding.
Upper vs. Lower GI bleeding
Upper Gi bleed occurs up above the duodenum part of the Gi tract. Causes include peptic ulcer disease, stress-related mucous disease, and gastritis. Upper GI bleeding is often manifested as black tarry stools.
Lower Gi bleeding, on the other hand, occur in the lower part of the GI tract, usually below the duodenum. It is mostly caused by a variety of conditions and illnesses, including cancer, Crohn’s disease, hemorrhoids, and polyps, and can be indicated by bright red colour in the stool.
Nursing care for Patients with GI bleeding includes four main stages
Assessment
Assessment is the most important activity, yet the most difficult skill to perfect. A clinical assessment must be done as fast as possible for patients with GI bleeding. If the patient has experienced severe shock, measures to resuscitate them must be taken immediately. The nurse should also check other aspects like pulse, blood pressure, and respiratory rates. A blood sample should also be taken and tested to establish important aspects like the haemoglobin concentration and platelet count.
Diagnosis
The nurse will use the findings from physical assessment and tests done in the above stage to come up with the most likely diagnosis.
Management and implementation
After diagnosis, the nurse should stratify the risk factors and establish an appropriate plan of care and treatment. Management often calls for immediate hospitalization, close monitoring, and immediate initiation of treatment. GI treatment plan prioritizes on maintaining the patient’s circulation followed by different treatment measures such as endoscopy, oxygen therapies, and intravenous infusion for patients in hypovolemic shock.
Evaluation
Evaluation entails establishing whether the treatment being administered helps to meet the desired goals. If you are still experiencing problems in coming up with a diagnosis, go back through your assessment and carefully list the abnormal data to narrow down the diagnosis.
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