Chapter 16: GI and Urologic Emergencies Flashcards
Remember that the patient is in pain and is probably anxious; he or she requires all your skills of rapid assessment and:
emotional support
Diverticulitis occurs in which quadrant?
LLQ
An aortic aneurysm will occur in which area of the body?
lower back and lower quadrants
When forming a general impression of the patient during the initial assessment, which important “scale” information should be included?
AVPU
Use OPQRST to ask the patient what makes the pain better or worse. The “S” stands for:
severity of pain
During the baseline vital sign check, the last vital sign to change is:
blood pressure
Remember, the condition of a patient with an acute abdomen can change:
rapidly from stable to unstable
During the focused physical exam, the first step listed to assess the abdomen is:
explain to the patient what you are about to do
Where will you find localization of pain for a patient with a kidney stone?
radiating to the genitalia
A bladder infection called cystitis is more common than kidney infection, especially in women. Patients with cystitis usually have ____ pain
lower abdominal
When the waste product that is normally excreted into the urine remains in the blood, this can lead to
uremia
The type of pain where the patient experiences tenderness when direct pressure is applied but severe pain when that pressure is released is called:
rebound tenderness
In which condition does the junction between the esophagus and the stomach tear, causing severe bleeding and potentially death?
mallory-weiss syndrome
3 systems in the abdominal cavity
GI, reproductive, urinary
the abdominal cavity contains __ and ___ organs
solid and hollow
the liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys and ovaries are ___ organs
solid
the gall bladder, stomach, SI, LI, and urinary bladder are __ organs
hollow
an injury to a solid organ will cause
shock and bleeding
breach into a hollow organ will cause
contents to leak and contaminate the abdominal cavity
function of the GI system
digestion
digestion begins when
food is put into the mouth and chewed
the ___ is the main organ of the digestive system
stomach
the liver aids in
digestion
the liver secretes
bile
the liver also stores ____ and filters toxins
glucose
the gallbladder stores
bile
the ___ is where digestive juices from the pancreas and liver mix
SI
the ____ is where water is absorbed and stool is formed
LI/colon
the spleen has to ___ and filters ___
no digestive function and filters blood
the ____ controls discharge of waste material filtered from blood by kidneys
urinary system
____ are retroperitoneal
kidneys
the kidneys regulate ___ and ___
acidity and BP
the average adult forms ___ L of urine a day
1.5-2
the _____ is the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity
parietal peritoneum
the ______ is the membrane that covers organs
visceral
____ is the sudden onset of abdominal pain
acute abdomen
peritonitis usually causes
ileus
___ is the paralysis of muscular contractions in the intestines
ileus
acute pain, nausea, vomiting, and distended abdomen are signs of
peritonitis
____ is the inflammation of abnormal pockets at weak areas in lining of the colon
diverticulitis
____ is gallbladder inflammation
cholecystitis
cholecystitis pain is in
RUQ
functions of the ___:
- part of the lymphatic system
- filters blood
- RBC development
- blood reservoir
spleen
perceiving pain at a distant point of the body
referred pain
___ is inflammation of the appendix
appendicitis
appendicitis is characterized by
rebound tenderness
acute adrenal failure is a
sudden decrease in function (can be reversed)
chronic renal failure is
progressive over months and years
chronic renal failure is often caused by
diabetes or high BP
3 main causes of hernia
congenital defect
surgical wound that didn’t heal properly
natural weakness
muscle spasms of the abdomen causes
guarding
