Brian Jones, a 22-year-old college student, is admitted from the emergency department to a medical-surgical unit with the diagnosis of acute bacterial meningitis. The patient presented with the following vital signs: temperature, 104°F; blood pressure, 110/70 mm Hg; heart rate, 100 bpm; respiratory rate, 20 breaths/min. The patient presented with a severe, constant headache and nuchal rigidity. (Learning Objective 1)

1. To what room should the charge nurse assign the patient?
2. What additional signs and symptoms could a patient diagnosed with bacterial meningitis exhibit?
3. What diagnostic and lab tests are used to confirm the diagnosis of meningitis?
4. What medical management should the nurse anticipate for the patient?
5. What nursing care should be provided for the patient?

Joan Centers, a 42-year-old patient, presents to the clinic with drooping of the right side of the face with paralysis of the right eyelid resulting in decreased blinking and inability to close the eye. The patient has increased lacrimation of the right eye. The patient complains that the right side of her face feels like pins and needles pricking it, and the pain includes her right eye and behind her right ear. The patient’s speech is slurred and the patient has no control of facial muscles on the right side when swallowing.

1. How should the nurse describe the diagnosis of Bell’s palsy to the patient?
2. What medical treatments does the nurse anticipate will be ordered for the patient, and what rationale justifies the treatments?
3. What nursing care should be provided for the patient?

Solution

The nurse has to assign the patient to the emergency room. This is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis based on physical and historical examination since the patient is in a critical condition. It primarily needs respiratory isolation until the cultures appear negative.

Irritability, confusion, increased sensitivity to light, vomiting, nausea, headache, nuchal rigidity, seizures, high fever, neck stiffness, and muscle pain……………please follow the link below to purchase the solution at $10