NURS 6512 Lab Assignment Assessing the Genitalia and Rectum

NURS 6512 Lab Assignment Assessing the Genitalia and Rectum (analyze soap note)

Patients are frequently uncomfortable discussing with health care professionals issues that involve the genitalia and rectum; however, gathering an adequate history and properly conducting a physical exam are vital. Examining case studies of genital and rectal abnormalities can help prepare advanced practice nurses to accurately assess patients with problems in these areas.

In this Discussion, you will consider case studies that describe abnormal findings in patients seen in a clinical setting.

Note: By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will have assigned you to one of the following specific case studies for this Discussion. Also, your Discussion post should be in the SOAP Note format, rather than the traditional narrative style Discussion posting format. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Comprehensive SOAP Template in the Week 4 Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that not all comprehensive SOAP data are included in every patient case.

Case 1: Rectal Bleeding

A 62-year-old male construction worker reports to your clinic after experiencing rectal bleeding for over 1 month. He has noticed small amounts of blood after every bowel movement. He had a colonoscopy 2 years ago with normal results. The patient has no fever, chills, dysuria, abnormal urinary frequency, or abdominal pain. The patient reports occasional rectal itching and pain. He states he has no noticeable sores on his rectal area and no family history of colorectal cancer.

Case 2: Dysuria

A 55-year-old African-American male reports to your clinic complaining of frequent and painful urination for the past 2 months. The patient is sexually active and has been in a monogamous relationship for the past 3 years. He reports no penile discharge, fever, chills, abdominal pain, or back pain. His father is deceased and passed away of colon cancer. His father had a history of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). The patient considers himself as a healthy male. He works for a large American corporation, has a relatively healthy diet, and exercises 4 to 5 times per week.

Case 3: Genitalia

A 21-year-old college student reports to your clinic with external bumps on her genital area. The bumps are painless and feel rough. The patient is sexually active and has had more than one partner over the past year. Her initial sexual contact occurred at age 18. The patient reports no abnormal vaginal discharge. She is unsure how long the bumps have been there but noticed them about a week ago. Her last Pap smear exam was 3 years ago, and no dysplasia was found; the exam results were normal. She had one sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia) about 2 years ago. She completed the treatment for chlamydia as prescribed.

To prepare:

With regard to the case study you were assigned:

Review this week’s Learning Resources, and consider the insights they provide about the case study.
Consider what history would be necessary to collect from the patient in the case study you were assigned.
Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate to gather more information about the patient’s condition. How would the results be used to make a diagnosis?
Identify at least five possible conditions that may be considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient.

Note: Before you submit your initial post, replace the subject line (“Week 10 Discussion”) with “Review of Case Study ___.” Fill in the blank with 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 the case study to which you were assigned. Explain 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.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days who were assigned different case studies than you. Analyze the possible conditions from your colleagues’ differential diagnoses. Determine which of the conditions you would reject, and why. Identify the most likely condition, and justify your reasoning.

Assessment of the Rectum and Genitalia

Patient Information:

Initials: AB                 Age: 21 Years Old                  Sex: Female                Race: White

S.

CC (chief complaint): “I have bumps on my bottom that I want to have checked out.”

HPI: AB, a 21-year-old WF college student reports to your clinic with external bumps on her genital area. She states the bumps are painless and feel rough. She states she is sexually active and has had more than one partner during the past year. Her initial sexual contact occurred at age 18. She reports no abnormal vaginal discharge. She is unsure how long the bumps have been there but noticed them about a week ago. Her last Pap smear exam was 3 years ago, and no dysplasia was found; the exam results were normal. She reports one sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia) about 2 years ago. She completed the treatment for chlamydia as prescribed.

Location: genital area.

Onset: Unsure of how long the pumps have been there but she noticed the about a week ago

Character: Painless and feel rough

Associated signs and symptoms: the pumps are reported to be pain and feels rough on touch. There are no associated symptoms such as itchiness and pain.

Timing: None

Exacerbating/ relieving factors: Unspecified

Severity: The pumps do not have any symptoms such as pain or itchiness. Rating on pain therefore not applicable.

Current Medications: Symbicort 160/4.5mcg

Allergies: No known drug, food, or environmental allergies.

PMHx: The client has history of asthma. She also has a history of sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia) over 2 years ago. She completed chlamydia treatment.
Soc Hx: The patient is a college student, who reports to be sexually active and have had more than one partner in the last year. The initial sexual contact of the client was when she was 18. The client also denied tobacco use, occasional use of etoh, married, 3 children (1 girl, 2 boys).

Fam Hx: No history of breast or cervical cancer, Father history of HTN, Mother has history of HTN and GERD

OBJECTIVE:

Physical exam:

Vital Signs: Temp 98.6; BP 120/86; RR 16; P 92; HT 5’10”; WT 169lbs

CV: Regular heart rhythm with no murmurs

Lungs: CTA, chest wall symmetrical

Genital: Normal female hair pattern distribution; no masses or swelling. Urethral meatus intact without erythema or discharge. Perineum intact. Vaginal mucosa pink and moist with rugae present, pos for firm, round, small, painless ulcer noted on external labia. ABD: soft, normoactive bowel sounds, neg rebound, neg murphy’s, negMcBurney

Diagnostic: HSV specimen obtained

Analysis of Additional Subjective Information Top of Form

            The nurse should focus on obtaining additional subjective data from the patient besides those in the case snapshot. The additional subjective data will guide the development of accurate diagnosis and treatment plan for the client. The nurse should obtain the information about additional symptoms that are associated with the external pumps on her genitalia. The nurse should obtain information such as size, shape, any discharge, or changes in the pumps that might have occurred over the past in terms of appearance. The nurse should also obtain additional information about any history of similar pumps in the past. A history of closely related pumps of the genital area could guide the development of diagnoses such as warts in the patient. There is also the need for the nurse to obtain information related to medication use by the patient. A history of medication use such as those used in managing the pumps could aid in determining the cause of the problem (Stephen & Skillen, 2020). History on medication use could also guide the determination of whether the pumps are attributable to side effects or adverse reactions to a drug.

The nurse should also obtain information about the use of any irritants in the past that might have caused the pump. For example, information about the types of soaps that the patient uses should be obtained. The client should also be asked about her sexual preferences. This will provide information about her sexual habits, which might have led to the development of the pumps. The effect of the pumps on the self-perception of the client should also be obtained. The nurse should try to rate the effect of the pumps on her self-image and self-esteem using an appropriate rating scale (Forbes & Watt, 2020). The additional subjective data that may be needed include history of skin problems such as eczema, menstrual history, and occupational history to determine any risk factors in her workplace place.

Analysis of Additional Objective information

Additional objective data should also be obtained from the client to increase the accuracy of the diagnosis. The nurse should have performed rectal examination. The examination could have provided clues such as the presence of hemorrhoids or anal fissures. The nurse should have also provided information about the general appearance of the client. The general appearance could have provided clues on the social, emotional and physical impact of the pumps on the client. The nurse should have also performed head to toe examination of the client. The examination could have included the assessment of the skin to determine the existence of undetected skin lesions. The nurse should have also examined the oral cavity for any lesions, neck for inflamed lymph nodes and neck rigidity. The nurse should have also assessed the chest for any abnormal findings such as appearance, shape, or palpitations on auscultation (Cox, 2019). The above information could have guided the accuracy of the diagnoses made by the nurse.

Is this Assessment Supported by the Subjective and Objective Assessment?

 The assessment is supported by subjective and objective data. Subjective data is the data that the patient provides concerning her experience with the health problem. The information is based on the perceived experiences by the patient and the management of the health problem. Subjective data provides the basis of assessment and physical examinations of the patient. The examples of subjective data that support the assessment include the client’s complaints, history of the complains, history of any vaginal discharge, her Pap smear examinations, and any significant past medical, surgical and family history. Objective data on the other hand is the data that the nurse obtains using assessment and physical examination techniques. The data is not based on the subjective experiences of the patient with the disease but the physiological changes in the patient due to the disease. Objective data is used to validate the subjective data (Perry et al., 2021). The examples of objective data in the case study include vital signs, auscultation of the heart and lungs and the observation of the genitalia. The diagnostic investigations that were ordered also form part of the objective data.

Appropriate Diagnostic Tests

The development of accurate diagnosis of the client’s problem can be achieved by performing a number of diagnostic investigations. One of them is skin scrap. A scrap of the pumps can be obtained for laboratory examination. The other investigation is tzank smear to test for herpes simplex. The client should be tested for syphilis using diagnostics such as Darkfield microscopy or enzyme immunoassay (Perry et al., 2021).

Current Diagnosis

The current diagnosis of chancre is accurate. Patients with chancre present with symptoms similar to those of the client in the case study. For example, the ulcers are asymptomatic and can last for a period of up to six weeks (Cox, 2019).

Differential Diagnosis

One of the differential diagnoses that should be considered for the patient in the case study is contact dermatitis. Contact dermatitis is a skin condition that is characterized by symptoms such as the presence of rashes, which are dry, scaly and cracked. It is however the least likely due to the absence of itchiness and oozing or crusting of the rashes. The second differential diagnosis is syphilis. The client has a history of multiple sexual partners, which predisposes her to syphilis. Patients with syphilis also show skin rashes such as chancre in the early stages of syphilis. The last differential diagnosis is herpes simplex. Patients with herpes simplex may have symptoms such as rashes in the genitals (Perry et al., 2021). However, it is least unlikely for the patient due to the lack of symptoms such as lymphadenopathy and fever.

Conclusion

The diagnosis of chancre in the case study is accurate. Additional subjective and objective data should be obtained to come up with an accurate diagnosis. Differential diagnoses such as syphilis, herpes simplex, and contact dermatitis should however be considered. In addition, further diagnostic investigations should be performed to come up with an accurate diagnosis.

References

Cox, C. L. (2019). Physical Assessment for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals. John Wiley & Sons.

Forbes, H., & Watt, E. (2020). Jarvis’s Health Assessment and Physical Examination – E-Book: Australian and New Zealand. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Perry, A. G., Potter, P. A., Ostendorf, W., & Laplante, N. (2021). Clinical Nursing Skills and Techniques—E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Stephen, T. C., & Skillen, D. L. (2020). Canadian Nursing Health Assessment. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.