Pharmacotherapy for Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Disorders Assignment

Pharmacotherapy for Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Disorders Assignment

 Pharmacotherapy for Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Disorders Assignment

The case study is about DC, a 46-year-old female patient with complaints of RUQ pain for 24-hours. The abdominal pain began one hour after having a large meal. She experienced nausea and one episode of vomiting before the pain. She has minimal abdominal tenderness and an elevated WBC count and Direct bilirubin. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible diagnosis and recommend drug therapy.

Diagnosis: Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is characterized by liver inflammation resulting in mild to severe illness. It is caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV) spread through contaminated food and water or direct contact with an infected person (Abutaleb & Kottilil, 2020). Symptoms include malaise, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, upper abdominal pain, dark-colored urine, and jaundice. Symptomatic persons have a marked increase in total and direct bilirubin, serum transaminase, and alkaline phosphatase levels (Abutaleb & Kottilil, 2020). Hepatitis A is a possible diagnosis based on positive findings of RUQ pain, nausea, vomiting, minor abdominal tenderness, and a high direct bilirubin level. Besides, the elevated WBC count indicates an infection, which occurs in Hepatitis A.

Drug Therapy

Supportive care is the mainstay treatment for Hepatitis A. The patient will be prescribed Tylenol 500 mg orally twice daily for pain relief, vital for quality patient care. She will also be administered Hepatitis A vaccine, inactivated. It is recommended for active immunization of adult patients against diseases caused by HAV (Migueres et al., 2021).

Conclusion

The likely diagnosis is Hepatitis A, which could have been caused by consuming contaminated food or water. Positive symptoms include RUQ pain and tenderness, nausea, vomiting, and high direct bilirubin and WBCs. Medications will include Tylenol to relieve pain and Hepatitis A vaccination.

References

Abutaleb, A., & Kottilil, S. (2020). Hepatitis A: Epidemiology, Natural History, Unusual Clinical Manifestations, and Prevention. Gastroenterology clinics of North America, 49(2), 191–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gtc.2020.01.002

Migueres, M., Lhomme, S., & Izopet, J. (2021). Hepatitis A: Epidemiology, High-Risk Groups, Prevention and Research on Antiviral Treatment. Viruses, 13(10), 1900. https://doi.org/10.3390/v13101900

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Assignment: Pharmacotherapy for Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Disorders

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Gastrointestinal (GI) and hepatobiliary disorders affect the structure and function of the GI tract. Many of these disorders often have similar symptoms, such as abdominal pain, cramping, constipation, nausea, bloating, and fatigue. Since multiple disorders can be tied to the same symptoms, it is important for advanced practice nurses to carefully evaluate patients and prescribe a treatment that targets the cause rather than the symptom.

Once the underlying cause is identified, an appropriate drug therapy plan can be recommended based on medical history and individual patient factors. In this Assignment, you examine a case study of a patient who presents with symptoms of a possible GI/hepatobiliary disorder, and you design an appropriate drug therapy plan.

To Prepare
Review the case study assigned by your Instructor for this Assignment
Reflect on the patient’s symptoms, medical history, and drugs currently prescribed.
Think about a possible diagnosis for the patient. Consider whether the patient has a disorder related to the gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary system or whether the symptoms are the result of a disorder from another system or other factors, such as pregnancy, drugs, or a psychological disorder.
Consider an appropriate drug therapy plan based on the patient’s history, diagnosis, and drugs currently prescribed.
By Day 7 of Week 4
Write a 1-page paper that addresses the following:

Explain your diagnosis for the patient, including your rationale for the diagnosis.
Describe an appropriate drug therapy plan based on the patient’s history, diagnosis, and drugs currently prescribed.
Justify why you would recommend this drug therapy plan for this patient. Be specific and provide examples.
Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center offers an example of those required elements (available at http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

Week 4 Assignment

DC is a 46-year-old female who presents with a 24-hour history of RUQ pain. She states the pain started about 1 hour after a large dinner she had with her family. She has had nausea and one instance of vomiting before presentation.

PMH: Vitals:

HTN Temp: 98.8oF

Type II DM Wt: 202 lbs

Gout Ht: 5’8”

DVT – Caused by oral BCPs BP: 136/82

HR: 82 bpm

Current Medications: Notable Labs:

Lisinopril 10 mg daily WBC: 13,000/mm3

HCTZ 25 mg daily Total bilirubin: 0.8 mg/dL

Allopurinol 100 mg daily Direct bilirubin: 0.6 mg/dL

Multivitamin daily Alk Phos: 100 U/L

AST: 45 U/L

ALT: 30 U/L

Allergies:

Latex
Codeine
Amoxicillin
PE:

Eyes: EOMI
HENT: Normal
GI:Nondistended, minimal tenderness
Skin:Warm and dry
Neuro: Alert and Oriented
Psych:Appropriate mood
Have a great week.

Dr. Foster