Assignment: Emergency Department
Assignment: Emergency Department
Assignment: Emergency Department
D.F. is a 37-year-old woman who presents to the emergency department after having a seizure.
Subjective Data
PMH: Seizures, unknown type
Headache
Housewife
Feels weak
No loss of consciousness
Objective Data
Vital signs: T 37 P 72 R 18 BP 114/64
Lungs: clear all bases
O2 Sat = 100%
CV = heart rate regular, positive peripheral pulses
PERRLA
What other questions should the nurse ask about the seizures?
What other assessments are necessary for this patient?
What are some of the causes of seizures?
Develop a problem list from objective and subjective data.
What should be included in the plan of care?
What other risk factors are associated with this presentation?
Based on the readings and the subjective and objective data, this patient most likely had what type of seizure?
Summarize your answers in an APA formatted paper
A seizure is an uncontrollable electrical disruption in the brain that occurs suddenly.
It can alter your behavior, motions, or sensations, as well as your level of consciousness.
Epilepsy is defined as having two or more seizures that occur at least 24 hours apart and are not caused by a known cause.
Seizures come in a variety of forms, each with its own set of symptoms and intensity.
The sort of seizure depends on where it starts in the brain and how far it spreads.
The majority of seizures endure between 30 seconds and two minutes.
A seizure lasting more than five minutes is considered a medical emergency.
You might be surprised to learn that seizures are more prevalent than you believe.
Seizures can occur as a result of a stroke, a closed head injury, a meningitis infection, or another condition.
However, the etiology of a seizure is frequently unknown.
Although medication may control most seizure disorders, seizure treatment can still have a substantial impact on your everyday life.
The good news is that you and your doctor can work together to find a balance between seizure management and drug side effects.
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Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of a seizure can range from minor to severe, depending on the type of seizure.
The following are some of the indications and symptoms of a seizure:
Temporary perplexity
A bout of staring
Jerking movements of the arms and legs that are uncontrollable
Consciousness or awareness loss
Fear, worry, or a sense of déjà vu are examples of cognitive or emotional symptoms.
Doctors divide seizures into two types: focal and generalized, depending on how and where aberrant brain activity occurs.
If the cause of the seizure is uncertain, the seizure is classified as unknown onset.
Seizures with a single focus
The aberrant electrical activity in one part of your brain causes focal seizures.
Focal seizures can cause loss of consciousness or not:
Focal seizures accompanied by a loss of awareness.
These seizures are characterized by a shift in or loss of consciousness or awareness that feels like a dream.
You may appear to be awake, yet you look into space and do not respond to your surroundings regularly, or you make repeated movements.
Hand rubbing, lip gestures, repeating certain words, and walking in circles are some examples.
You could not recall or even be aware that you had a seizure.
Seizures that occur in clusters but do not result in a loss of consciousness.
You dont lose consciousness, but your emotions or the way things seem, smell, feel, taste, or sound may change as a result of the seizures.
You might feel angry, happy, or depressed all of a sudden.
Some people experience nausea or other strange sensations that are difficult to describe.
Seizures can also include difficulties speaking, uncontrollable jerking of a bodily part like an arm or a leg, and spontaneous sensory sensations like tingling, dizziness, and seeing flashing lights.
Other neurological illnesses, such as migraine, narcolepsy, or mental illness, might mimic the symptoms of focal seizures.
Seizures that are all over the place
Generalized seizures are seizures that appear to affect all parts of the brain.
The following are examples of generalized seizures:
Seizures that do not occur.
Absence seizures, also known as petit mal seizures, are common in children and are characterized by staring into space or minor bodily movements such as blinking or smacking of the lips.
They last five to ten seconds on average, although they might happen hundreds of times every day.
These seizures can happen in waves and induce a momentary loss of consciousness.
Seizures that are tonic.
Muscle stiffness is a side effect of tonic seizures.
These seizures mainly affect your back, arms, and legs muscles, and they might cause you to lose consciousness and fall to the ground.
Seizures of atonic nature.
Atonic seizures, also known as drop seizures, are characterized by a loss of muscle control, which can result in you collapsing, falling down, or dropping your head.
Seizures that are clonic.
Clonic seizures are characterized by jerking muscle movements that are recurrent or rhythmic.
On both sides of the body, these convulsions frequently involve the neck, face, and arms.
Seizures that are myoclonic.
Myoclonic seizures are characterized by abrupt arm and leg jerks or twitches.
Often, there is no loss of consciousness.
Seizures that are tonic-clonic.
Tonic-clonic seizures, also known as grand mal seizures, are the most severe form of epileptic seizure, resulting in an abrupt loss of consciousness, stiffness and shaking of the body, and, in some cases, loss of bladder control or biting of the tongue.
They could last a few minutes.
