(SOLVED)  NURS 6512N Week 3 Case study Assignment: Differential Diagnoses and Diagnostic Testing Introduction

When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools to help in understanding a patient’s condition. In turn, beginning with a differential diagnosis supports the process of further applying information to narrow the possibilities of what the condition may be and working to arrive at the most accurate diagnosis for planning treatment.

For this Case Study Assignment, you will determine the physical exams and diagnostic tests that would be most appropriate for gaining information and better understanding of your patient’s condition. Then, based on your analysis, you will formulate a differential diagnosis for the patient.

To prepare:

  • By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will assign a patient profile for this Assignment. Note:Please see the Course Announcements section of the classroom for your patient profile Assignment.
  • Review this week’s Learning Resources.
  • Review the details of the patient case study.
  • Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be most appropriate to gather more information about the patient’s condition.
  • Reflect on how the results would be used to make a diagnosis.
  • Identify three to five (3–5)possible conditions that may be considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient.

Assignment: Diagnostic Reasoning 

Include the following:

  • Identify the patient’s chief complaint.
  • Identify what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be most appropriate to gather more information about the patient’s condition. Be specific and explain your reasoning.
  • Explain how the results would be used to make a diagnosis.
  • Identify three to five (3–5)possible conditions that may be considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient. Explain your thinking.

SOLUTION:

Differential Diagnoses and Diagnostic Testing

The patient is a 20 yar old female student who presenting for assessment with a chief complaint of abdominal pain lasting for the past two weeks. Additionally, the patient complains that she experiences nausea and vomiting most mornings. These symptoms are coupled with loss of appetite, weight loss amounting to 10 pounds and diarrhea lasting for a few days. Importantly, the patient also indicates that she has no surgical history of past medical history relevant to her current condition. In this case a comprehensive assessment into the patient’s condition is critical to developing an appropriate diagnosis and consequently an effective treatment plan.The patient assessment involves a physical examination and diagnostic tests.

Physical examination

The physical examination would involve an abdominal examination which involves assessment for tenderness, distension and palpable masses in the patient’s abdomen. The examination is critical to the health practitioner’s assessment since it provides critical information of the presence and location of localized pain potentially informing on the cause of the patient’s symptoms. Presence of palpable masses may indicate probable conditions such as tumors and abscesses (Drewes et al., 2020). On other hand the presence of distension would point towards possible fluid accumulation or bowel obstruction. The findings of the examination further guide the subsequent investigation procedures…………KINDLY CLICK ON THE PURCHASE ICON BELOW TO ACCESS THE ENTIRE SOLUTION FOR $15