Diverticula are small bulging pouches that can form in the lining of the intestines, usually in the colon. Diverticulitis occurs when these pouches become inflamed or infected. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and changes in bowel habits. It is diagnosed through tests like CT scans, barium enemas, and physical exams. Treatment depends on severity but may include antibiotics, fluids, soft diet, pain medication, and sometimes surgery. Nursing focuses on monitoring for complications, managing symptoms, and providing dietary and lifestyle education.
Diverticula are small bulging pouches that can form in the lining of the intestines, usually in the colon. Diverticulitis occurs when these pouches become inflamed or infected. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and changes in bowel habits. It is diagnosed through tests like CT scans, barium enemas, and physical exams. Treatment depends on severity but may include antibiotics, fluids, soft diet, pain medication, and sometimes surgery. Nursing focuses on monitoring for complications, managing symptoms, and providing dietary and lifestyle education.
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Diverticula are small bulging pouches that can form in the lining of the intestines, usually in the colon. Diverticulitis occurs when these pouches become inflamed or infected. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and changes in bowel habits. It is diagnosed through tests like CT scans, barium enemas, and physical exams. Treatment depends on severity but may include antibiotics, fluids, soft diet, pain medication, and sometimes surgery. Nursing focuses on monitoring for complications, managing symptoms, and providing dietary and lifestyle education.
Copyright:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
the muscle layer. Diverticula may occur anywhere in the small intestine or colon but most commonly occur in the sigmoid colon (at least 95%) V Diverticulitis is a condition in which diverticuli in the colon rupture. The rupture results in infection in the tissues that surround the colon. V The colon (large intestine) is a long tube-like structure that stores and then eliminates waste material. Pressure within the colon causes bulging pockets of tissue (sacs) that push out from the colonic walls as a person ages. A small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall is called a à . More than one bulging sac is referred to in the plural as à . Diverticula can occur throughout the colon but are most common near the end of the left colon referred to as the sigmoid colon. The condition of having these diverticula in the colon is called à . V common in the Western world but is extremely rare in areas such as Asia and Africa. V seen in more than fifty percent of people over the age of 60 years in the United States V! V
V
V The muscular wall of the colon grows thicker with age, although the cause of this thickening is unclear. It may reflect the increasing pressures required by the colon to eliminate feces. For example, a diet low in fiber can lead to small, hard stools which are difficult to pass and which require increased pressure to pass. The lack of fiber and small stools also may allow segments of the colon to close off from the rest of the colon when the colonic muscle in the segment contracts. The pressure in these closed-off segments may become high since the increased pressure cannot dissipate to the rest of the colon. Over time, high pressures in the colon push the inner intestinal lining outward (herniation) through weak areas in the muscular walls. These pouches or sacs that develop are called diverticula. V ARIUM ENEMA X-RAY STUDIES V COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SCAN V PHYSICAL EXAMINATION (RECTAL EXAM) V ANGIOGRAPHY or RADIONUCLIDE V COMPLETE LOOD COUNT V STOOL EXAM V u. Assess for personal and family history, congenital defects, previous abdominal trauma. V 2. Collect information of complaints that brought client to the hospital. V 3. Obtain history of onset and progression of symptoms. V * Nausea and sometimes vomiting. V * elly pain, usually in the lower left side, that is sometimes worse when you move. This is the most common symptom. V * Fever and chills. V * loating and gas. V * Diarrhea or constipation V * Not feeling like eating 4. Obtain information of signs of bowel inflammatory process, obstruction, or GI bleeding 5. Perform complete physical assessment including vital signs, signs of dehydration, GI bleeding and acute abdomen. 6. Assess diagnostic tests and procedures for abnormal values. V Chronic constipation V Signs of acute diverticulosis are bowel irregularity and intervals of diarrhea V abrupt onset of crampy pain in the left lower quadrant of the abdomen, and a low-grade fever V nausea and anorexia V some bloating or abdominal distention V repeated local inflammation of the diverticula, the large bowel may narrow with fibrotic strictures, leading to cramps, narrow stools, and increased constip V Weakness, fatigue, V Peritonitis V abscess formation, and bleeding V inflamed diverticulum V Abdominal pain, a rigid boardlike abdomen, loss of bowel sounds, V signs and symptoms of shoc V Noninflamed or slightly inflamed diverticula V barium enema x-ray study or by colonoscopy V computed tomography V physical examination, V rectal examination V angiography or radionuclide scans V blood tests V stool check for blood V Abdominal X-ray V , rest, analgesics and antispasmodics are recommended V the diet is clear liquid until the inflammation subsides V high-fiber, low fat is recommended V A bulk-forming laxative also is prescribed V road-spectrum antibiotics V Oral intake is increased as symptoms subside. V è One-stage resection - in which the inflamed area is removed and a primary end-to-end anastomosis is completed
V Multiple-staged procedures for
complications such as obstruction or perforation - V auscultation for the presence and character of bowel sounds and palpation for lower left quadrant pain, tenderness, or firm mass
V The stool is inspected for pus, mucus, or
blood. It is important to monitor temperature, pulse, and blood pressure for abnormal variations. V NURSING DIAGNOSES ased on the assessment data, the nursing diagnoses may includethe following:
V è Constipation related to narrowing of
the colon from thickened muscular segments and strictures V è Acute pain related to inflammation and infection