Nursing Assessment for Appendicitis

Appendicitis

Appendicitis is a common and urgent surgical illness with protean manifestations, generous overlap with other clinical syndromes, and significant morbidity, which increases with diagnostic delay. No single sign, symptom, or diagnostic test accurately confirms the diagnosis of appendiceal inflammation in all cases.

The surgeon's goals are to evaluate a relatively small population of patients referred for suspected appendicitis and to minimize the negative appendectomy rate without increasing the incidence of perforation. The emergency department clinician must evaluate the larger group of patients who present to the ED with abdominal pain of all etiologies with the goal of approaching 100% sensitivity for the diagnosis in a time-, cost-, and consultation-efficient manner.emedicine.medscape.com

Nursing Assessment for Appendicitis

1. Patient Identity
   The identity of the client: name, age, sex, marital status, religion, tribe / nation, education, occupation, income, address and registration number.
2. Nursing History
   • Health history now: complaints of pain in postoperative wound appendectomy, nausea, vomiting, increased body temperature, increased leukocytes.
   • Health history of the past
3. Physical examination
   • Cardiovascular System: To check vital signs, presence or absence of jugular vein distension, pale, edema, and abnormal heart sounds.
   • Hematological System: To determine whether there is increase in leukocytes is a sign of infection and bleeding, nosebleeds, splenomegaly.
   • Urogenital System: There are at least tension of the bladder and back pain complaints.
   • Musculoskeletal System: To determine whether there is difficulty in movement, pain in bones, joints and there is a fracture or not.
   • The immune system: To determine whether there is lymph node enlargement.
4. Examination Support
   • Routine Blood tests: to determine an increase in leukocytes is a sign of infection.
   • Abdominal x-ray examination: to know the existence of post-surgical complications.

Labels: Nursing Assessment for Appendicitis