In the case study, Mr. M., a 70-year-old man, is in poor health. Mr. M. currently resides in an assisted living facility, where he is frequently visited by members of his immediate and extended family. As a result of his health issues, Mr. M. cannot recollect their respective names. This patient has been experiencing difficulty getting around and has a wobbly walk. A tibial fracture, post-appendectomy hypercholesterolemia, and elevated blood pressure are the conditions the patient has previously been diagnosed with. Patients with Alzheimer’s sometimes face difficulties remembering what they have just read, becoming disoriented when walking around their rooms at night, and inability to do daily activities independently. Based on his medical background, several issues have been discussed in this paper concerning Mr. M’s condition.
Clinical Manifestations
During the past two months, Mr. M.’s health has deteriorated. His physical, mental, and emotional well-being has deteriorated steadily over the past few months. Mr. M. has difficulty ambulating and has an uneven walk because of his physical condition. It is also clear that his physical state has deteriorated due to his incapacity to carry out everyday duties independently. As evidenced by the patient’s memory loss, he cannot remember what he is just read or the names of his family members. Therefore his mental health is deteriorating. In addition, the anxiety, dread, and aggression of Mr. M. indicate a decline in his health.
Diagnoses and Secondary Diagnoses
Primary diagnoses
In light of the health information supplied for Mr. M, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can be deemed the primary diagnosis. Deterioration in mental, physical, and emotional health is common in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Based on this, some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) include memory loss, aggression, agitation, and difficulty doing everyday tasks on one’s own (Zvěřová, 2019). Given his symptoms and age, there is a substantial probability that Mr. M. has Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Secondary Diagnoses
Mr. M. is also likely to be having a urinary tract infection (UTI). The presence of murky urine, a high level of leukocytes, and an increased white blood cell (WBC) count all point to this illness. UTI patients exhibit a wide range of symptoms and indicators. Some of the symptoms are frequent urination, dysuria, cloudy urine, high WBC, and an elevated leukocyte count (Bono & Reygaert, 2018). There is a substantial probability that Mr. M. has a UTI based on the symptoms given above.
Explanation of Expected Abnormalities during Nursing Assessment
Several irregularities may be found in Mr. M’s health situation. Mr. M’s odd behavior was one of the several abnormal behaviors characterized by various moods. The patient exhibits anxiety, hostility, and being fearful and afraid. A few of these characteristics point to a patient who may have some abnormalities. His memory loss is another abnormality observed. Memory loss can be confirmed as one of the abnormalities as the patient frequently forgets what he has just read and the names of his loved ones. This condition is indicative of anything out of the ordinary. In addition, the patient cannot dress, eat, or wash by any means. There had been an improvement in his ability to carry out simple tasks around two months ago. The current condition suggests that some visible anomalies are worth further medical examination.
Effects of Health Status on Physical, Psychological, and Emotional Aspects of Patient and Family
Mr. M is expected to show physical weakness, strange sleeping habits, discomfort, and physical pain. Exhaustion may be caused by the patient’s body battling some illnesses based on the raised leukocyte and WBC levels. As a result of his infirmity, the patient becomes increasingly reliant on the assistance of his loved ones. As a result, the patient may feel a combination of aggression and dread. Family members must always watch him and protect themselves, especially when agitated. There may also be emotional repercussions, such as sadness and anxiety that the patient suffers from. Family members may suffer from sadness due to having to care for the sick all the time, or the patient may attack them physically due to these consequences.
Intervention for Support
Physical treatment, cognitive therapy, and medication are all options for Mr. M’s medical intervention. Physical treatment and cognitive therapy can help him walk better, while medicine slows the course of his Alzheimer’s and urinary tract infection (UTI). In addition, the family members need to be educated on how to deal with a patient exhibiting Alzheimer’s Disease, aggression, fear, anxiety, and how to provide him with the essential care (Crandall et al., 2022; Wolf et al., 2018).
Actual or Potential Problems Based on Condition
Urosepsis is a real threat to Mr. M’s health if prompt action is not taken to treat the UTI. This condition develops, in most cases, at the onset of urinary tract infection. Thus, untreated UTIs often develop into urosepsis. Research shows that this illness can produce dizziness, lightheadedness, and dementia in older adults, leading to sudden falls (Tonolini, 2017). In addition, if the patient remains in the same posture for an extended period, pressure injuries are quite likely to occur. Another possibility is that his many health concerns have compromised the patient’s immune system.
References
Bono, M. J., & Reygaert, W. C. (2018). Urinary tract infection. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470195/
Crandall, J., Coatsworth-Puspoky, R., Schlegel, K., Beker, L., McLelland, V. C., & Martin, L. S. (2022). Implementing gentle persuasive approaches dementia education for staff on in-patient medicine units: A program evaluation. Dementia, 147130122110701. https://doi.org/10.1177/14713012211070148
Tonolini, M. (2017). Cross-sectional imaging of urosepsis. In: Tonolini M. (Ed.), Imaging and intervention in urinary tract infections and urosepsis, 185–189. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68276-1_17
Wolf, M. U., Goldberg, Y., & Freedman, M. (2018). Aggression and agitation in dementia. Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology, 24(3), 783–803. https://doi.org/10.1212/con.0000000000000605
Zvěřová, M. (2019). Clinical aspects of Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical Biochemistry, 72, 3–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2019.04.015
