Health Asessment

Case 1: Nose Focused Exam Richard is a 50-year-old male with nasal congestion, sneezin" rel="nofollow">ing, rhin" rel="nofollow">inorrhea, and postnasal drain" rel="nofollow">inage. Richard has struggled with an itchy nose, eyes, palate, and ears for 5 days. As you check his ears and throat for redness and in" rel="nofollow">inflammation, you notice him touch his fin" rel="nofollow">ingers to the bridge of his nose to press and rub there. He says he's taken Mucin" rel="nofollow">inex OTC the past two nights to help him breathe while he sleeps. When you ask if the Mucin" rel="nofollow">inex has helped at all, he sneers slightly and gestures that the improvement is only min" rel="nofollow">inimal. Richard is alert and oriented. He has pale, boggy nasal mucosa with clear thin" rel="nofollow">in secretions and enlarged nasal turbin" rel="nofollow">inates, which obstruct airway flow but his lungs are clear. His tonsils are not enlarged but his throat is mildly erythematous. Case 2: Focused Throat Exam Lily is a 20-year-old student at the local community college. When some of her friends and classmates told her about an outbreak of flu-like symptoms sweepin" rel="nofollow">ing her campus over the past two weeks, Lily figured she shouldn't take her three-day sore throat lightly. Your clin" rel="nofollow">inic has treated a few cases similar to Lily's. All the patients reported decreased appetite, headaches, and pain" rel="nofollow">in with swallowin" rel="nofollow">ing. As Lily recounts these symptoms to you, you notice that she has a runny nose and a slight hoarseness in" rel="nofollow">in her voice but doesn't sound congested. Case 3: Focused Ear Exam Martha brin" rel="nofollow">ings her 11-year old grandson, James, to your clin" rel="nofollow">inic to have his right ear checked. He has complain" rel="nofollow">ined to her about a mild earache for the past two days. His grandmother believes that he feels warm but did not verify this with a thermometer. James states that the pain" rel="nofollow">in was worse while he was fallin" rel="nofollow">ing asleep and that it was harder for him to hear. When you begin" rel="nofollow">in basic assessments, you notice that James has a promin" rel="nofollow">inent tan. When you ask him how he's been spendin" rel="nofollow">ing his summer, James responds that he's been spendin" rel="nofollow">ing a lot of time in" rel="nofollow">in the pool. To prepare: With regard to the case study you were assigned: Review this week's Learnin" rel="nofollow">ing Resources and consider the in" rel="nofollow">insights they provide. Consider what history would be necessary to collect from the patient. Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate to gather more in" rel="nofollow">information about the patient's condition. How would the results be used to make a diagnosis? Identify at least 10 possible conditions that may be considered in" rel="nofollow">in a differential diagnosis for the patient. Note: Before you submit your in" rel="nofollow">initial post, replace the subject lin" rel="nofollow">ine (“Week 5 Discussion”) with “Review of Case Study ___,” identifyin" rel="nofollow">ing the number of the case study you were assigned. By Day 3 Post a description of the health history you would need to collect from the patient in" rel="nofollow">in the case study to which you were assigned. Explain" rel="nofollow">in what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate and how the results would be used to make a diagnosis. List five different possible conditions for the patient's differential diagnosis and justify why you selected each.