Discussion: Digestive Disorders
Many patient symptoms can be tied to multiple disorders, which may lead to misdiagnoses. For instance, consider two digestive disorders of the gastrointestinal tract-inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. These two disorders are commonly confused because they present similar symptoms. As an advanced practice nurse, you must know the differences to properly diagnose and treat the disorders.
How does the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease compare to the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome?
How do treatments for the two disorders compare?
To Prepare
? Review Chapter 36 in the Huether and McCance text and Chapter 13 in the McPhee and Hammer text.
? Identify the pathophysiological mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Think about similarities and differences between the disorders.
? Consider common treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Reflect on whether treatments for one disorder would work for the other disorder.
? Select one of the following patient factors: genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or behavior. Reflect on how the factor you selected might impact the pathophysiology of and treatments for each disorder.
Post an explanation of the pathophysiological mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disorder and irritable bowel syndrome, including similarities and differences. Then describe common treatments, addressing whether treatments for one disorder would work for the other disorder. Finally, explain how the patient factor you selected might impact the pathophysiology of and treatments for each disorder.
Assignment 2: While HIV/AIDS is still currently incurable, the prognosis for patients with this infectious disease has improved due to advancements in drug treatments. Consider the case of Kristy Aney. Kristy was diagnosed with HIV in 1992 and was told she would survive, at most, 10 more years. Despite unfavorable odds, Kristy is still alive 20 years later. Since her diagnosis, she has witnessed tremendous improvements in HIV/AIDS treatments which have helped patients live longer with fewer side effects. While she acknowledges that these drug treatments have kept her alive, she fears that improvements in drug therapy have led to more people becoming complacent about the disease (Idaho Statesmen, 2012). In fact, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States is higher than it has ever been (CDC, 2012). This poses the question: Is there a relationship between drug advancements, societal complacency, and infection?
To prepare:
? Review Chapter 49 of the Arcangelo and Peterson text, as well as the Krummenacher et al. and Scourfield articles in the Learning Resources.
? Reflect on whether or not the prevalence of HIV cases might be attributed to increased complacency due to more advanced drug treatment options for HIV/AIDS.
? Consider how health care professionals can help to change perceptions and make people more aware of the realities of the disease.
? Think about strategies to educate HIV positive patients on medication adherence, as well as safe practices to reduce the risk of infecting others.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post an explanation of whether or not you think the prevalence of HIV cases might be attributed to increased complacency due to more advanced drug treatment options.Then, explain how health care professionals can help to change perceptions and increase awareness of the realities of the disease. Finally, describe strategies to educate HIV positive patients on medication adherence, as well as safe practices to reduce the risk of infecting others.