Problem: You are a visiting nurse checking in on your patient, a 93-year-old retired steelworker who lives alone with his two cats. You visit him on a weekly basis to monitor his blood glucose levels and refill his insulin syringes for his self-medicating throughout the week, as he is visually impaired. During your interview, he indicates that he has been experiencing irregularity and is quite anxious over developing a bowel obstruction. (Learning Objectives 2, 3, and 6) How would you assess his bowel elimination patterns? Describe foods that impact bowel elimination either positively or negatively. What activities could you recommend to maintain adequate bowel function? Outline how fiber and fluid intake facilitate bowel elimination. Which mechanical function of the bowel causes constipation? You are a nurse in a medical-surgical hospital unit caring for a patient who had an open cholecystectomy 3 days earlier. Subsequently, the patient developed a paralytic ileus. Additional complications require continued postoperative antibiotic infusions. (Learning Objectives 2, 3, and 5) What nursing assessment finding could indicate the presence of a paralytic ileus? Which medical interventions could have contributed to the development of your patient's paralytic ileus? How long would you expect the paralytic ileus to last? In what ways would you expect a paralytic ileus to resolve? List possible nursing diagnoses for this patient related to the surgical procedure and postoperative complication. Need Assignment Help?