Elderly Stroke Patients: A Case Study

As stated in Acute Stroke Intervention (Prabhakaran, Ruff, & Bernstein, 2015), one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States are strokes. Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) results when an artery that is supplying the brain becomes blocked, this occurrence leads to cell death of brain tissue. Improving brain function after an ischemic stroke is of high priority for clinical research. General consensus shows that administration of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV rtPA) therapy is helpful when introduced within 4.5 hours of ischemic stroke symptom onset. The benefit of intravenous (IV rtPA) lessens when the onset of symptoms goes beyond 4.5 hours. The use of (IV rtPA) is contraindicated when there is

Given the high risk of severe, debilitating health outcomes imaging a patient with suspected stroke in a timely fashion is paramount. When the timing of the stroke onset is determinable this allows for the appropriate form of treatment to be administrated such as thrombolytic therapies and neurointerventional techniques (González, 2012).

Experienced nurses find ways of incorporating oral care into regular assessments – combining the two encourages performing the oral hygiene care and saves time. Dale, et al. (2016) quoted an un-named ICU administrator who commented, “I would hope that they are teaching (mouth care) in the critical care curriculum.” Stressing the importance of oral care early in the training of a new critical care nurse should help to solidify the inclusion of oral care into regular daily practice.

Strokes are one of the major causes of immobility in seniors. Recovery largely depends on the extent of the brain injury and the length of time before treatment. Nonetheless, most seniors require the assistance of a caregiver and this mainly requires planning and organization. Here are some ways you can take care of a senior post -stroke

odour, changes in voice and any difficulty or pain on swallowing. Assessing a patients should not only involve a nurse, but the member of the multidisciplinary team. The physiotherapy, dietitian, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist and the doctors involves in the patients care. Who all play an important role. A study was carried out by Horne et al (2014) to investigate the organisation, provision and practice of oral care in typical UK 11 stroke units; and explore stroke survivors’, carers’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences and perceptions about the barriers and facilitators to receiving and undertaking oral care in stroke unit. The senior nurse on each of the 11 stroke units completed and returned the questionnaire.

1. Every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke (National Stroke Association, 2014). Some symptoms related with a stroke are headache, blurred vision, trouble speaking, confusion, dizziness and numbness on one side of body. These symptoms are very important to know. Due to how common strokes are it's good to know the warning signs. For every person that dies from stroke, more than 5 times that many will survive, and for them the physical damage it causes can be enormous (National Stroke Association, 2014). Most people who have a stroke are depressed after it's all said and done. They may be paralyzed on one side, have a speech impairment or worse. When you are used to living a certain way and that suddenly changes it can be hard for people to deal with.

Strokes are caused by a block in the blood supply to the brain which causes a decrease in oxygen and delivery of other important supplies which facilitate proper functioning. Fifteen million cases are reported worldwide annually, although not all of these cases are mortalities, the large prevalence of strokes ranks it as the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. (Figueroa) Because of the time sensitivity associated with the lack of resources to the brain, strokes are considered a medical emergency and early recognition of symptoms can help decrease the amount of damage caused . Although strokes do not always cause death, strokes most often leave the individual with some physical and cognitive impairment.

The purpose of this essay is to discuss a clinical skill or nursing action by referring to the nursing and allied health literature to explain and support evidence based practice. The skill I wish to examine is the practice of oral hygiene for adults with dementia in residential aged care facilities. In this essay I aim to provide the reader with adequate references to support the best practice for oral hygiene for people with dementia.

The over the counter medication once known only for its ability of easing aches and pains or fighting off fever and inflammation is proving itself to be quite the miracle drug. Aspirin has become part of the protocol for stroke victims as a preventative measure due to its neuro-protective benefits. Stroke can cause lesions in cerebral white matter, which may result in cognitive impairments such as deficits in learning and memory. White matter lesions (WML) have also been linked to increasing the risk of post-stroke dementia. Cerebral white matter damage has been widely overlooked. Comprised of oligodendrocytes that form the insulating myelin in the CNS, white matter is evidentially just as vulnerable to ischemia as gray matter.

This paper presents the Appraisal of the Stroke Management Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) in relations to the selected scenario according to the Midwifery discipline. Health Professionals would use the CPG in order to improve patient care which is supported by evidence and recommendations (Hoffman et al, 2013, p.326). In which the appraisal would be applied in real life scenarios within the professional settings in order to investigate the best practice guideline. This is done by analysing the CPG according to the AGREE 11 tool. The AGREE 11 instrument is to assess the CPG, provide strategies in order to develop the guidelines and also inform the strengths and weakness of

The existing, big competition on healthcare market, where the hospital reimbursement depends partially on the patients’ outcome and satisfaction, forces each hospital to stay on the top of newest evidence-based practices (EBP). This standard applies not only to physicians and the treatments they offer, but also to nursing care provided to the patients.

3000 word essay on patient with left sided stroke with one identified health need/problem: Dysphagia

As a nurse in a skilled nursing facility, oral hygiene care is very important, but the importance significantly increases when our patients are functionally dependent or cognitively impaired. These patients are unable to perform this task and depend on nurses to provide daily care. Nurses need to pay close attention for potential problems. They will need to perform assessments, develop oral care plans, and identify preventions and strategies to eliminate any potential problems. Poor oral health has been linked to serious systemic illnesses including diabetes mellitus, stroke, hypertension, myocardial infarction and aspiration pneumonia (Dyck et al., 2012). Patients who suffer from a lack of oral care can have a dramatic impact to their

Evidence-Base practice (EBP) is defined as based on problems identified from nursing practice; using best evidence and professional expertise and merging them into current practice to ensure patients receive quality care (French, 1999). Evidence-based practice is a part of quality improvement process; it is made of evidence, clinical expertise, patient preference and the context of care (Barker, 2013). In brief, evidence-based practice is the guideline in the nursing practice that requires nurses gather and use clinical evidence to help diagnose or assess patients correctly by using their knowledge and experience in order they can deliver the quality of care to the patients (Ellis, 2013). In the other words, in the nursing practice the clinical evidence supports all the nursing procedures performed.

Aspiration pneumonia is one of the serious risk complications of stroke patients, about 40% of these patients have dysphagia (Cohen et al,2016). This affects the quality of life and prolongs hospital stay. A variety of options are recommended to minimize the risk of aspiration pneumonia, such as pharmacological therapies, compensatory strategy/positioning changes, tube feeding, oral hygiene and dietary interventions (Kaneoka et al, 2015).There are many issues faced by nursing in caring for dysphagia patient includes maintenance of oral care(Horne et al,2014). In this assignment, oral hygiene would take into consideration as one of the effective elements that utilized in hospitals. However, there was limited data published regarding oral care