Using the theory of unpleasant symptoms as a guide, what would you look for in an assessment tool for patient symptoms?
Reply to this post with at least 250 words, minimum of two scholarly references in APA format within “the las 5 years published”.
The theory of unpleasant symptoms focuses on three essential elements, namely the symptoms, the cause of the symptoms, and the influence of the condition on the patient’s performance (Blakeman, 2019). These three essential elements will inform my assessment tool evaluation criteria. According to Bea et al. (2022), it was possible to identify infective endocarditis among the elderly and distinguish it from related aging infections such as colorectal cancer and HCP that are age-related due to the patients presenting heart murmurs, muscle and joint aches, fevers and chills, swollen feet, and ulcer nodes among patients. Therefore, I will focus on the clinical presentations among patients in the assessment tool evaluation since such help isolated conditions and give a credible diagnosis.
I would also focus on the causes of the symptoms, as earlier mentioned, due to the potential it presents in treating the condition. According to Bea et al. (2022), due to the adverse age of the patients, Enterococcus ssp was responsible for the infective endocarditis among the elderly since it is the most common among 65-79-year-olds while a further analysis revealed Gram-positive cocci among the patients informing antibiotic treatment. Therefore, I would focus on the results from the analysis of the condition and potential diagnosis in an assessment tool evaluation as it would inform my decision on the best intervention for the patients.
In an assessment tool evaluation, I would focus on the severity of the condition to the psychomotor and physical performance. As per Lebeaux et al. (2019), due to the prevalence and the mutation of the Staphylococcus aureus, aminoglycosides are an ineffective treatment for infective endocarditis. Therefore, nI would focus on the performance of the individual in an assessment tool to help identify the intensity to inform my decision on the potential treatment; as noted in Lebeaux et al. (2019) findings, conditions intensity influence the effectiveness of the medication.
References
Bea, C., Vela, S., García-Blas, S., Perez-Rivera, J.-A., Díez-Villanueva, P., de Gracia, A. I., Fuertes, E., Oltra, M. R., Ferrer, A., Belmonte, A., Santas, E., Pellicer, M., Colomina, J., Doménech, A., Bodi, V., Forner, M. J., Chorro, F. J., & Bonanad, C. (2022). Infective Endocarditis in the Elderly: Challenges and Strategies. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, 9(6), 192. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd9060192
Blakeman, J. R. (2019). An integrative review of the theory of unpleasant symptoms. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(5), 946–961. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13906
Lebeaux, D., Fernández-Hidalgo, N., Pilmis, B., Tattevin, P., & Mainardi, J.-L. . (2019). Aminoglycosides for infective endocarditis: time to say goodbye? Clinical Microbiology and Infection. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2019.10.017
