Scenario
Jack is an 80-year-old male who was admitted to the primary care physician’s office. He is a widowed person, and his family currently consists only of his two sons and their wives. Even though they are in the same state, the client lives independently and is distanced from his family. The man used to smoke up to a pack of cigarettes every day for over 10 years, but he does not smoke or drink alcohol now. Jack is already diagnosed with three chronic conditions. He has hypertension and takes medicine daily to control his blood pressure, ensuring that it is not too high. He also suffers from glaucoma but does not resort to any invasive treatments and only wears glasses. The patient has Parkinson’s disease that is entailed by a tremor. He uses complementary medicine to slow down its development (APDA, 2016).
Probable Disease
Four days ago, Jack started experiencing headaches and a hacking cough. Approximately at the same time, he had muscle aches. He came to the physician’s office today because he suddenly had a high fever and shaking chills. In addition to that, he has a cough with sputum that is entailed by chest pain.
During the assessment, it is revealed that the man has dry and dusky skin with no bruises or other traumas. He has respiratory distress and decreased breath sounds. Crackles and dullness to percussion are observed. Sputum profuse that is associated with a cough is yellow (CDC, 2017a).
HR – 110; RR – 33; BP – 140/86; Oxygen Saturation – 85%; Temperature – 39.2 (102.56).
According to this information, Jack is likely to have influenza. Several tests are required to get more information about his condition and develop a diagnosis.
Social Related Concerns
Jack seems to have influenza, which means that he should not interact much with other people because this virus is contagious. Being close to people with a weak immune system, the client may affect their health adversely. However, taking into consideration the fact that he is 80 years old and lives alone, it is vital for him to have someone who can assist with daily tasks. It would be advantageous if Jack’s sons come to his place to clean up, bring food, cook, entertain, and take care of their father. The client should not spend much time with others or go shopping because he might infect the citizens and contribute to the epidemic of influenza. If he cannot obtain assistance from his family, Jack should stay in a hospital, care center, or have a home nurse.
Technological Resources
It will be helpful for a nurse to cooperate with a physician and a pharmacologist to manage the man’s situation. In addition to that, professionals who maintain tests are to be involved.
Such information as a patient’s history and test results will be needed for the development of a proper diagnosis. Jack should also be educated regarding this condition and treatment plan. Mainly, his expenditures will be covered by insurance. The treatment is likely to last for about 10 days.
In order to provide the client with a proper diagnosis, lab results are needed. It would be advantageous to resort to radiology and have a chest X-ray, which means that an X-ray machine is needed. There is a necessity to have blood and sputum culture tests that can be maintained only with special machines. Urine analyzer machine should also be used (CDC, 2017b).
References
APDA. (2016). Parkinson’s disease handbook. Web.
CDC. (2017a). Flu symptoms & complications.
CDC. (2017b). Rapid influenza diagnostic tests.