Case Study Bloody Diarrhea
Which essential questions will you ask a pediatric patient or their caregiver when the presenting complaint is bloody diarrhea? Will these questions vary depending upon the child's age? Why or why not?
Studies show that diarrhea disease is the third cause of death among children younger than 5 years of age. According to World Health Organization (WHO), acute diarrhea is the passage of three of more loose or liquid stools per day, that last three or more and for less than 14 days. Also, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) describes acute gastroenteritis (AGE) as the diarrhea of rapid onset, with or without additional symptoms and signs, such as nausea, vomiting, fever, blood or abdominal pain. Bloody stools in a sick child may be signs of severe abdominal pathology (Florez, Al-Khalifah, Sierra, Granados, Yepes-Nunez, Cuello-Garcia, Thabane, 2016). The relevant clinical questions to ask would include the following:
• Number of days diarrhea has been present and whether onset was abrupt or gradual
• Description of the stools (watery, does the bloody stool have mucus?)
• Frequency of the stool and quantity of stool produced relative to the everyday pattern
• Presence and severity of associated symptoms such as nausea, …show more content…
What clinical or historical findings will indicate the need for diagnostic studies and why? Which diagnostic studies will you initially order and why? The causes of vomiting in pediatric population include severe abdominal pain, infection, bowel obstruction and neurological, metabolic or endocrine causes (Van Heurn, Pakarinen & Wester, 2013). Other causes of vomiting include acute diarrhea and allergic reaction (Gordon, 2013). Abdominal pain may be generally difficult to assess in younger children because they may not present with observable symptoms. However, extra-abdominal disorders such as pneumonia and pharyngitis may present with pain (Van Heurn, et al,
Studies show that diarrhea disease is the third cause of death among children younger than 5 years of age. According to World Health Organization (WHO), acute diarrhea is the passage of three of more loose or liquid stools per day, that last three or more and for less than 14 days. Also, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) describes acute gastroenteritis (AGE) as the diarrhea of rapid onset, with or without additional symptoms and signs, such as nausea, vomiting, fever, blood or abdominal pain. Bloody stools in a sick child may be signs of severe abdominal pathology (Florez, Al-Khalifah, Sierra, Granados, Yepes-Nunez, Cuello-Garcia, Thabane, 2016). The relevant clinical questions to ask would include the following:
• Number of days diarrhea has been present and whether onset was abrupt or gradual
• Description of the stools (watery, does the bloody stool have mucus?)
• Frequency of the stool and quantity of stool produced relative to the everyday pattern
• Presence and severity of associated symptoms such as nausea, …show more content…
What clinical or historical findings will indicate the need for diagnostic studies and why? Which diagnostic studies will you initially order and why? The causes of vomiting in pediatric population include severe abdominal pain, infection, bowel obstruction and neurological, metabolic or endocrine causes (Van Heurn, Pakarinen & Wester, 2013). Other causes of vomiting include acute diarrhea and allergic reaction (Gordon, 2013). Abdominal pain may be generally difficult to assess in younger children because they may not present with observable symptoms. However, extra-abdominal disorders such as pneumonia and pharyngitis may present with pain (Van Heurn, et al,