Case Study: ABCDE in Managing Acutely Ill Patients

Adopting the ABCDE in managing the acutely ill patient may help identify the underlying issues in her health. Assess whether the patients airway is clear by asking them to take a deep breath and their ability to make a full sentence. It is also important to listen to the breathing process (Morandi, Brummel, & Ely, 2011). Any variation in breathing is easily identifiable after listening to the chest area and feeling the heartbeats. The nurse should check whether the muscles in the chest area are moving in a normal way, which might reveal a distress in the respiratory system. However, if the tests are negative, one can dismiss a problem with the respiratory system (Clarke, 2014).

An examination of the patient may also reveal whether they have a circulation of air and whether any part of their internal system is going through a haemorrhage (Page, 2012). Checking the temperature and skin color may help identify an issue with the circulation of air. The nurse should also determine the conscious level by checking whether a patient is alert and can respond to any verbal instructions. Looking at the size of the pupil and its functionality will help identify any form of disability in the neurology. The patient should be in a position to walk on his or her own and move their hands with ease.

At last, an examination of the patient to access the health condition may require some dignified exposure to identify their breathing (Balas et al., 2013a). The patient may need to get rid of off some clothes to create a better view of their breathing patterns and identification of any wounds, injuries, or rashes. Exposing the patient to the environment is also an opportunity to recheck the temperature.

In addition, it is important for the healthcare practitioners to adopt SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation). Using this tool will assist the nurses to communicate amongst each other about the medical problems patients might be suffering from and need the intervention of more than one doctor. The main idea of using SBAR is to allow exchange of information amongst doctors that will help facilitate the treatment process (Woodhall, Vertacnik, & McLaughlin, 2008). The fact that SBAR is easy to use and facilitates communication amongst practitioners means that doctors communication about the wellbeing of the above patient will be fast. When the first practitioner was unable to detect the problem and asked for assistance and a second opinion, SBAR will be used to pass messages between the two healthcare officials.

References

Balas, M. C., Burke, W. J., Gannon, D., Cohen, M. Z., Colburn, L., Bevil, C., ... & Vasilevskis, E. E. (2013). Implementing the ABCDE bundle into everyday care: Opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned for implementing the ICU pain, agitation and delirium (PAD) guidelines. Critical care medicine, 41(9 0 1), S116.

Balas, M., Buckingham, R., Braley, T., Saldi, S., & Vasilevskis, E. E. (2013). Extending the ABCDE bundle to the post-intensive care unit setting. Journal of gerontological nursing.

Clarke, C. (2014). Promoting the 6Cs of nursing in patient assessment. Nursing Standard (2014+), 28(44), 52.

Morandi, A., Brummel, N. E., & Ely, E. W. (2011). Sedation, delirium and mechanical ventilation: the ABCDEapproach. Current opinion in critical care, 17(1), 43-49.

Page, K. (Ed.). (2012). Nursing the Acutely Ill Adult: Case Book. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Woodhall, L. J., Vertacnik, L., & McLaughlin, M. (2008). Implementation of the SBAR communication technique in a tertiary center. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 34(4), 314-317.