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[Closed] About 10 billion miles off topic. Respiratory secretions stuff.

SurroundedByZulus · 2010-11-17T21:29:48Z

You have this patient: A 50 year old woman is admitted with severe abdominal pain and is vomiting blood due to a bleeding gastric ulcer; she undergoes an emergency laparotomy and partial gastrectomy. Second day post surgery she is in a flexed posture, is protecting her abdominal wound and is unable to expectorate. On auscultation she has reduced air entry and late inspiratory crackles in both lower zones and her arterial oxygen levels are low requiring her to be given oxygen therapy. She is also dehydrated as she is currently not permitted anything by mouth. She has a history of smoking 20 cigarettes per day up until her admission. There is one tiny bit that I am unsure about. Why would the woman be dehydrated? Would she not be getting fluids intravenously? And would this not effect the thickness of any secretions she produced? Long shot I know, but worth a punt i hope.

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molgrips

Posts: 91169

Free Member

Go get someone to check it out properly

I will, if it stays there. Just tried the stretching, could only get a bit of stretch in it by contorting my leg weirdly. I think perhaps the reason it's stayed there so long is that it doesn't get stretched out properly ever, it being on the side.

Posted : 18/11/2010 12:59 pm

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