Being a nurse does not just begin with vital signs taking and recording, patient assessment, medications and does not end with charting.
The nursing reponsibility involves knowing the disease process the medications, its mechanism of action, side effects and the precautions.
A female in her early 30s was admitted with complains of right upper abdominal pain. Tests revealed that she has cholelithiasis and cholecystitis.
According to medterms.com cholelithiasis is “the presence of stones in the gallbladder or common bile duct. The process of formation of such stones. From the Greek roots chole, bile + lithos, stone.”
On the other hand. cholecystitis refers to the “inflammation of the gallbladder, a complication of gallstones which are formed by cholesterol and pigment (bilirubin) in bile.”
Bile according to answers.com is a bitter, alkaline, brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow fluid that is secreted by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and discharged into the duodenum and aids in the emulsification, digestion, and absorption of fats. Also called gall.
There are a few doctors who are thoughtful enough to share the diease process to the patients. So they (patients) end up at a loss as soon as the doctor steps out of the patient’s room. Most of the time, the nurses are the one being asked about for the information they need to know.
My patient was informed by her attending that she needs to undergo explore laparoscopy to remove the gallstones in order for the bile to have patent way to the colon. Otherwise, gallbladder will be filled with bile and sign and symptoms will worsen. Chronic gallstone disease may lead to fibrosis and loss of function of the gallbladder and predisposes to gallbladder cancer.