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The disease under consideration, small bowel obstruction, is a blockage of the small intestine, which implies a disruption of the digestive system. Its development is characterized by the accumulation of swallowed air instead of intestinal fluids, in contrast to the normal intestine functions related to the absorption of nutrients, electrolytes, and water (Reddy & Cappell, 2017). As a result, this process is followed by the fermentation of ingested food and intestinal gas from bacterial proliferation (Reddy & Cappell, 2017). In this way, small bowel obstruction is the cause of mural edema and fluid sequestration.
This disease is diagnosed by medical history, physical examination, and blood tests. The principal symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, emesis, abdominal distention, and constipation (Reddy & Cappell, 2017). They are crucial if they occurred before abdominal surgeries, which makes the consideration of medical history an essential task. In turn, a physical examination is intended to reveal the signs of dehydration and sepsis, tachycardia, or hypotension (Reddy & Cappell, 2017). Finally, the tests include blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels (Reddy & Cappell, 2017). The combination of these measures allows concluding on the presence of small bowel obstruction.
The management and treatment of the disease usually imply hospitalization. The patients with this condition are medically stabilized through nil per os (NPO) and other methods (Reddy & Cappell, 2017). Further interventions are either surgery or initiatives on managing the condition. The former is more efficient, whereas the latter is used when the patients have no peritonitis (Reddy & Cappell, 2017). As for nursing care in case of small bowel obstruction, it includes the management of acute pain and the prevention of infection (Reddy & Cappell, 2017). It explains the need for the patients with this disease to be monitored in the hospital setting.
Reference
Reddy, S. R. R., & Cappell, M. S. (2017). A systematic review of the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of small bowel obstruction. Current Gastroenterology Reports, 19(6), 28. Web.
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