Adaptive Response
As an advanced practice nurse, you will examine patients presenting with a variety of disorders. You must, therefore, understand how the body normally functions so that you can identify when it is reacting to changes. Often, when changes occur in body systems, the body reacts with compensatory mechanisms. These compensatory mechanisms, such as adaptive responses, might be signs and symptoms of alterations or underlying disorders. In the clinical setting, you use these responses, along with other patient factors, to lead you to a diagnosis.
Consider the following scenarios:
Scenario 1:
Jennifer is a 2-year-old female who presents with her mother. Mom is concerned because Jennifer has been “running a temperature” for the last 3 days. Mom says that Jennifer is usually healthy and has no significant medical history. She was in her usual state of good health until 3 days ago when she started to get fussy, would not eat her breakfast, and would not sit still for her favorite television cartoon. Since then she has had a fever off and on, anywhere between 101oF and today’s high of 103.2oF. Mom has been giving her ibuprofen, but when the fever went up to 103.2oF today, she felt that she should come in for evaluation. A physical examination reveals a height and weight appropriate 2-year-old female who appears acutely unwell. Her skin is hot and dry. The tympanic membranes are slightly reddened on the periphery, but otherwise normal in appearance. The throat is erythematous with 4+ tonsils and diffuse exudates. Anterior cervical nodes are readily palpable and clearly tender to touch on the left side. The child indicates that her throat hurts “a lot” and it is painful to swallow. Vital signs reveal a temperature of 102.8oF, a pulse of 128 beats per minute, and a respiratory rate of 24 beats per minute.
Scenario 2:
Jack is a 27-year-old male who presents with redness and irritation of his hands. He reports that he has never had a problem like this before, but about 2 weeks ago he noticed that both his hands seemed to be really red and flaky. He denies any discomfort, stating that sometimes they feel “a little bit hot,” but otherwise they feel fine. He does not understand why they are so red. His wife told him that he might have an allergy and he should get some steroid cream. Jack has no known allergies and no significant medical history except for recurrent ear infections as a child. He denies any traumatic injury or known exposure to irritants. He is a maintenance engineer in a newspaper building and admits that he often works with abrasive solvents and chemicals. Normally he wears protective gloves, but lately they seem to be in short supply so sometimes he does not use them. He has exposed his hands to some of these cleaning fluids, but says that it never hurt and he always washed his hands when he was finished.
Scenario 3:
Martha is a 65-year-old woman who recently retired from her job as an administrative assistant at a local hospital. Her medical history is significant for hypertension, which has been controlled for years with hydrochlorothiazide. She reports that lately she is having a lot of trouble sleeping, she occasionally feels like she has a “racing heartbeat,” and she is losing her appetite. She emphasizes that she is not hungry like she used to be. The only significant change that has occurred lately in her life is that her 87-year-old mother moved into her home a few years ago. Mom had always been healthy, but she fell down a flight of stairs and broke her hip. Her recovery was a difficult one, as she has lost a lot of mobility and independence and needs to rely on her daughter for assistance with activities of daily living. Martha says it is not the retirement she dreamed about, but she is an only child and is happy to care for her mother. Mom wakes up early in the morning, likes to bathe every day, and has always eaten 5 small meals daily. Martha has to put a lot of time into caring for her mother, so it is almost a “blessing” that Martha is sleeping and eating less. She is worried about her own health though and wants to know why, at her age, she suddenly needs less sleep.
To Prepare
Review the three scenarios, as well as Chapter 6 in the Huether and McCance text.
Identify the pathophysiology of the disorders presented in each of the three scenarios, including their associated alterations. Consider the adaptive responses to the alterations.
Review the examples of “Mind Maps—Dementia, Endocarditis, and Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)” media in this week’s Learning Resources. Then select one of the disorders you identified from the scenarios. Use the examples in the media as a guide to construct a mind map for the disorder you selected. Consider the epidemiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, clinical presentation, and diagnosis of the disorder, as well as any adaptive responses to alterations.
Review the Application Assignment Paper Writing Service – Topic Examples – Rubric found under Course Information
To Complete
Write a 2- to 3-page paper (hire research essay pro writers) excluding the title page, reference page and Mind Map that addresses the following:
For each of the three scenarios explain the pathophysiology, associated alterations and the patients’ adaptive responses to the alterations caused by the disease processes. You are required to discuss all three scenarios within the paper component of this assignment.
Construct one mind map on a selected disorder presented in one of the scenarios. Your Mind Map must include the epidemiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, clinical presentation, and diagnosis of the disorder, as well as any adaptive responses to alterations.
Sample Essay Solution
Adaptive Response
The first scenario involving Jennifer who has a high temperature which shows that she could be suffering from a bacterial or viral infection. The body reacts to infections by countering the pathogens using antibodies and the response leads to an increase in temperature (Ueno, Banchereau & Vinuesa, 2015). Loss of appetite in children is also a sign of an underlying problem in the body. Jennifer has a throat problem as well as tonsillitis showing the reason why she has high body temperature. Tonsillitis involves an attack of the mucous membrane by a virus or a bacterial causing an infection (Ueno, Banchereau & Vinuesa, 2015). The skin of the child is dry and hot since the body has lost a lot of water during the period she has experienced fever. Additionally, it is hot since the temperature is high as the body attempts to fight off the infection. The child has also lost a lot of water and the body is generally weak since she is not eating well (Ueno, Banchereau & Vinuesa, 2015). The throat is also painful due to the infection and inflammation caused by the attack on the mucous membrane which is soft and sensitive.
In the second case study, Jack presents with irritation in his hands. The patient denies discomfort, which means that the patient is suffering (Sanders & Mishra, 2016). The patient has been exposed to chemicals. The cells on the skin were affected by the chemical compounds and started reacting. The irritation is a sign that the skin cells are suffering from irritation (Sanders & Mishra, 2016). The irritation of the skin is an automatic reaction of the skin to chemical compounds due to a lack of prior exposure. The reaction causes epidermal cellular custom essay writing service changes as well as skin barrier disruption. The skin also reacts by producing pro-inflammatory cytokines which are released in an attempt to counter the effect of the chemical substances (Sanders & Mishra, 2016). The exposure to the chemical components leads to irritation and redness of the skin.
The third scenario of Martha who is a retired 65-year old woman shows the effects of hypertension. Martha has been managing her condition using hydrochlorothiazide. However, as she continues to age, the possibility of decreased immunity and worsening hypertension increases (Butalia et al., 2018). The patient is suffering from hypertension which causes various pathophysiological mechanisms in the body. One of the changes is that the woman is experiencing less sleep and reduced appetite (Butalia et al., 2018). The reason is due to the hydrochlorothiazide medication she is taking. The medication is a diuretic which increases the frequency of urinating at night.
The purpose of the medication is to prevent retention of fluid in the body parts such as limbs. Additionally, medicine helps in increasing the excretion of excess salt, which is essential in regulating the condition of hypertension (Butalia et al., 2018). Additionally, she is also experiencing a racing heartbeat. The increase in the severity of the condition is due to the alterations that increase with the age of the patient due to poor functionality of the autonomic nervous system. Additionally, the body is reacting due to disruption of renin-angiotensin, and sodium and potassium imbalance (Butalia et al., 2018). Other changes that occur in the body include endothelial dysfunction which further accelerates the hypertension condition. Therefore, the patient should understand that the changes in the body are not due to the commitments she has with the sick mother, but due to the pathophysiological changes in the body.
Mind Map
The following mind map presents a case study of hypertension.
References
Butalia, S., Audibert, F., Côté, A. M., Firoz, T., Logan, A. G., Magee, L. A., … & Nerenberg, K. A. (2018). Hypertension Write my essay for me – CA Essay writer Canada’s 2018 guidelines for the management of hypertension in pregnancy. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 34(5), 526-531.
Sanders, N. L., & Mishra, A. (2016). Role of interleukin-18 in the pathophysiology of allergic diseases. Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews, 32, 31-39.
Ueno, H., Banchereau, J., & Vinuesa, C. G. (2015). Pathophysiology of T follicular helper cells in humans and mice. Nature Immunology, 16(2), 142.
