Assessing the Heart, Lungs, and Peripheral Vascular System Take a moment to observe your breathing.
Notice the sensation of your chest expanding as air flows into your lungs. Feel your chest contract as you exhale. How might this experience be different for someone with chronic lung disease or someone experiencing an asthma attack? In order to adequately assess the chest region of a patient, nurses need to be aware of a patient’s history, potential abnormal findings, and what physical exams and diagnostic tests should be conducted to determine the causes and severity of abnormalities. In this Discussion, you will consider how a patient’s initial symptoms can result in very different diagnoses when further assessment is conducted. Note: By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will have assigned you to one of the following specific case studies for this Discussion. Also, your Discussion post should be in the Episodic/Focused SOAP Note format, rather than the traditional narrative style Discussion posting format. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Episodic/Focused SOAP Template in the Week 5 Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that all Episodic/Focused SOAP notes have specific data included in every patient case. To prepare: With regard to the case study you were assigned: • Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider the insights they provide. • Consider what history would be necessary to collect from the patient. • Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate to gather more information about the patient’s condition. How would the results be used to make a diagnosis? • Identify at least five possible conditions that may be considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient. Note: Before you submit your initial post, replace the subject line (“Discussion – Week 6”) with “Review of Case Study” identifying the number of the case study you were assigned. By Day 3 Post an episodic/focused note about the patient in the case study to which you were assigned using the episodic/focused note template provided in week 5 resources. Provide evidence from the literature to support diagnostic tests that would be appropriate for each case. List five different possible conditions for the patient’s differential diagnosis and justify why you selected each. IMPORTANT INFORMATION In-text citations should match the references Please use only Peer-Reviewed articles of not longer than 5 years old Please Use Proper APA formatting in the discussion. Please Use at least 3 References. HERE ARE SOME RESOURCES TO USE FOR THE ASSIGNMENT. Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2015). Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. • Chapter 13, “Chest and Lungs” (pp. 260-293) This chapter explains the physical exam process for the chest and lungs. The authors also include descriptions of common abnormalities in the chest and lungs. Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2016). Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. • Chapter 8, “Chest Pain” (pp. 81–96) This chapter focuses on diagnosing the cause of chest pain and highlights the importance of first determining whether the patient is in a life-threatening condition. It includes questions that can help pinpoint the type and severity of pain and then describes how to perform a physical examination. Finally, the authors outline potential laboratory and diagnostic studies. • Chapter 11, “Cough” (pp. 118-147) A cough is a very common symptom in patients and usually indicates a minor health problem. This chapter focuses on how to determine the cause of the cough through asking questions and performing a physical exam. • Chapter 14, “Dyspnea” (pp. 159–173) The focus of this chapter is dyspnea, or shortness of breath. The chapter includes strategies for determining the cause of the problem through evaluation of the patient’s history, through physical examination, and through additional laboratory and diagnostic tests. • Chapter 26, “Palpitations” (pp. 310-317) This chapter describes the different causes of heart palpitations and details how the specific cause in a patient can be determined. • Chapter 33, “Syncope” (pp. 390-397) This chapter focuses on syncope, or loss of consciousness. The authors describe the difficulty of ascertaining the cause, because the patient is usually seen after the loss of consciousness has happened. The chapter includes information on potential causes and the symptoms of each. Sullivan , D. D. (2012). Guide to clinical documentation (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis. • Chapter 6, “Outpatient Charting and Communications” (pp. 119–141) Note: Download these Adult Examination Checklists and Physical Exam Summaries to use during your practice cardiac and respiratory examination. Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). Physical exam summary: Blood vessels. In Mosby’s guide to physical examination (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. This Blood Vessels Physical Exam Summary was published as a companion to Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.), by Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., & Flynn, J. A. Copyright Elsevier (2015). From https://evolve.elsevier.com/ Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). Adult examination checklist: Guide for cardiovascular assessment. In Mosby’s guide to physical examination (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. This Adult Examination Checklist: Guide for Cardiovascular Assessment was published as a companion to Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.), by Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., & Flynn, J. A. Copyright Elsevier (2015). From https://evolve.elsevier.com/ Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). Adult examination checklist: Guide for chest and lung assessment. In Mosby’s guide to physical examination (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. This Adult Examination Checklist: Guide for Chest and Lung Assessment was published as a companion to Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.), by Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., & Flynn, J. A. Copyright Elsevier (2015). From https://evolve.elsevier.com/ Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). Physical exam summary: Chest and lungs. In Mosby’s guide to physical examination (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. This Chest and Lungs Physical Exam Summary was published as a companion to Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.), by Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., & Flynn, J. A. Copyright Elsevier (2015). From https://evolve.elsevier.com/ Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). Physical exam summary: Heart. In Mosby’s guide to physical examination (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. This Heart Physical Exam Summary was published as a companion to Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.), by Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., & Flynn, J. A. Copyright Elsevier (2015). From https://evolve.elsevier.com/ SkillStat Learning, Inc. (2014). The 6 second ECG. Retrieved from http://www.skillstat.com/tools/ecg-simulator#/-home This interactive website allows you to explore common cardiac rhythms. It also offers the Six Second ECG game so you can practice identifying rhythms. University of Virginia. (n.d.). Introduction to radiology: An online interactive tutorial. Retrieved from http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/courses/rad/index.html This website provides an introduction to radiology and imaging. For this week, focus on cardiac radiography and chest radiology. Required Media Laureate Education. (Producer). (2012). Advanced health assessment and diagnostic reasoning. Baltimore, MD: Author. Note: You will use the case studies presented in the media, Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning, to complete this week’s Discussion.