Discuss Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children
Discuss Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children
Discussion:Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children
ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPERDiscuss:Discussion: Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children
When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools; however, different factors affect the validity and reliability of the results produced by these tests or tools. Nurses must be aware of these factors in order to select the most appropriate test or tool and to accurately interpret the results.
Not only do these diagnostic tests affect adults, body measurements can provide a general picture of whether a child is receiving adequate nutrition or is at risk for health issues. These data, however, are just one aspect to be considered. Lifestyle, family history, and culture-among other factors-are also relevant. That said, gathering and communicating this information can be a delicate process.
In this Discussion, you will consider the validity and reliability of different assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You will explore issues such as sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. You will also consider examples of children with various weight issues. You will explore how you could effectively gather information and encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about their children’s health and weight.
To prepare:
Review this week’s learning resources and consider factors that impact the validity and reliability of various assessment tools and diagnostic tests. We will also review examples of pediatric patients and their families as it relates to BMI.
This week you will be assigned one of the following DB by your instructor.
Select one of the following assessment tools or diagnostic tests to explore for the purposes of this Discussion:
Mammogram
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test
Body-mass index (BMI) using waist circumference for adults
Select one of the examples on which to focus for this Discussion. What health issues and risks may be relevant to the child you selected?
Overweight 5-year-old boy with overweight parents
5-year-old girl of normal weight with obese parents
Severely underweight 12-year-old girl with underweight parents
Search the Walden Library and credible sources for resources explaining the tool or test you selected. What is its purpose, how is it conducted, and what information does it gather?
What does the literature discuss regarding the validity, reliability, and are there any issues with sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, ethical dilemmas, and controversies related to the test or tool?
Based on the risks you identified, consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child’s health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.
Consider how you could encourage parents or caregivers to be proactive toward the child’s health.
By Day 3
Post a description of how the assessment tool or diagnostic test you selected is used in health care. Based on your research, evaluate the test or the tool’s validity and reliability, and explain any issues with sensitivity, reliability, and predictive values. Include references in appropriate APA formatting.
OR
Post an explanation of the health issues and risks that are relevant to the child you selected. Describe additional information you would need in order to further assess his or her weight-related health. Taking into account the parents’ and caregivers’ potential sensitivities, list at least three specific questions you would ask about the child to gather more information. Provide at least two strategies you could employ to encourage the parents or caregivers to be proactive about their child’s health and weight.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues who selected a different tool test, or child health example than you, using one or more of the following approaches:
Critique your colleague’s evaluation of the validity and reliability of the tool or test selected.
Suggest alternative or additional tools or tests that should be considered when gathering information about specific conditions or symptoms.
Based on the risks you identified, consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child’s health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.
Consider how you could encourage parents or caregivers to be proactive toward the child’s health.
Suggest additional health risks or issues that could be relevant to the child.
Critique your colleagues’ questions, and suggest how the parents or caregivers might interpret these questions. Provide alternate or additional questions.
Suggest an additional strategy for gathering patient information or promoting proactivity
Week 5 discussion
Discussion: Assessing the Ears, Nose, and Throat
Most ear, nose, and throat conditions that arise in non-critical care settings are minor in nature. However, subtle symptoms can sometimes escalate into life-threatening conditions that require prompt assessment and treatment. Nurses conducting assessments of the ears, nose, and throat must be able to identify the small differences between life-threatening conditions and benign ones. For instance, if a patient with a sore throat and a runny nose also has inflamed lymph nodes, the inflammation is probably due to the pathogen causing the sore throat rather than a case of throat cancer. With this knowledge and a sufficient patient health history, a nurse would not need to escalate the assessment to a biopsy or an MRI of the lymph nodes, but would probably perform a simple strep test.
In this Discussion, you consider case studies of abnormal findings from patients in a clinical setting. You determine what history should be collected from the patients, what physical exams and diagnostic tests should be conducted, and formulate a differential diagnosis with several possible conditions.
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 Episodic/Focused SOAP Note format, rather than the traditional narrative style Discussion posting format. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Episodic/Focused SOAP Template in the Week 5 Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that all Episodic/Focused SOAP notes have specific data included in every patient case.
Case 1: Nose Focused Exam
Richard is a 50-year-old male with nasal congestion, sneezing, rhinorrhea, and postnasal drainage. Richard has struggled with an itchy nose, eyes, palate, and ears for 5 days. As you check his ears and throat for redness and inflammation, you notice him touch his fingers to the bridge of his nose to press and rub there. He says he’s taken Mucinex OTC the past two nights to help him breathe while he sleeps. When you ask if the Mucinex has helped at all, he sneers slightly and gestures that the improvement is only minimal. Richard is alert and oriented. He has pale, boggy nasal mucosa with clear thin secretions and enlarged nasal turbinates, 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 sweeping her campus over the past two weeks, Lily figured she shouldn’t take her three-day sore throat lightly. Your clinic has treated a few cases similar to Lily’s. All the patients reported decreased appetite, headaches, and pain with swallowing. As Lily recounts these symptoms to you, you notice that she has a runny nose and a slight hoarseness in her voice but doesn’t sound congested.
Case 3: Focused Ear Exam
Martha brings her 11-year old grandson, James, to your clinic to have his right ear checked. He has complained 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 was worse while he was falling asleep and that it was harder for him to hear. When you begin basic assessments, you notice that James has a prominent tan. When you ask him how he’s been spending his summer, James responds that he’s been spending a lot of time in the pool.
To prepare:
With regard to the case study you were assigned:
Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider the 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 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 a differential diagnosis for the patient.
Note: Before you submit your initial post, replace the subject line (“Week 5 Discussion”) with “Review of Case Study ___,” identifying the number of the case study you were assigned.
Discussion:Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children
Discussion:Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children
Discussion:Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children