Posted: June 14th, 2023

The patient in this case study is a 13-year-old female diagnosed with type 1 diabetes

In order to write a case study paper, you must carefully address a number of sections in a specific order with specific information contained in each. The guideline below outlines each of those sections.

Section

Information to Include

Introduction (patient and problem)

Explain who the patient is (Age, gender, etc.)
Explain what the problem is (What was he/she diagnosed with, or what happened?)
Introduce your main argument (What should you as a nurse focus on or do?)
Pathophysiology

Explain the disease (What are the symptoms? What causes it?)
History

Explain what health problems the patient has (Has she/he been diagnosed with other diseases?)
Detail any and all previous treatments (Has she/he had any prior surgeries or is he/she on medication?)
Nursing Physical Assessment

List all the patient’s health stats in sentences with specific numbers/levels (Blood pressure, bowel sounds, ambulation, etc.)
Related Treatments

Explain what treatments the patient is receiving because of his/her disease
Nursing Diagnosis & Patient Goal

Explain what your nursing diagnosis is (What is the main problem for this patient? What need to be addressed?)
Explain what your goal is for helping the patient recover (What do you want to change for the patient?)
Nursing Interventions

Explain how you will accomplish your nursing goals, and support this with citations (Reference the literature)
Evaluation

Explain how effective the nursing intervention was (What happened after your nursing intervention? Did the patient get better?)
Recommendations

Explain what the patient or nurse should do in the future to continue recovery/improvement
Your paper should be 3-4 pages in length and will be graded on how well you complete each of the above sections. You will also be graded on your use of APA style and on your application of nursing journals into the treatments and interventions. For integrating nursing journals, remember the following:

Make sure to integrate citations into all of your paper
Support all claims of what the disease is, why it occurs and how to treat it with references to the literature on this disease
Always use citations for information that you learned from a book or article; if you do not cite it, you are telling your reader that YOU discovered that information (how to treat the disease, etc.)
You must bold each section heading and answer underneath each section heading in paragraph form. See the announcements for more information on the format.

___________

The patient in this case study is a 13-year-old female diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She was brought into the hospital by her parents due to symptoms of increased thirst and urination, weight loss, and fatigue. The main argument for this case study is the importance of managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes patients to prevent acute and long-term complications.

Pathophysiology:

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the cells in the pancreas responsible for producing insulin. As a result, the body is unable to produce insulin, leading to hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels). Symptoms of type 1 diabetes include increased thirst and urination, weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision, and frequent infections. The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, but it is thought to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

History:

The patient has no prior history of diabetes or other chronic health conditions. She is not taking any medications and has not undergone any surgeries.

Nursing Physical Assessment:

Upon admission, the patient’s blood pressure was 118/78 mmHg, heart rate was 92 beats per minute, and respiratory rate was 18 breaths per minute. She had a temperature of 98.6°F. Her weight was 55 kg, and her height was 160 cm. The patient had dry mucous membranes, and her skin was warm and dry. Her abdomen was soft, non-tender, and without any palpable masses. She had no peripheral edema and was ambulating without difficulty.

Related Treatments:

The patient was started on insulin therapy to manage her blood glucose levels. She was educated on the importance of monitoring her blood glucose levels regularly and adjusting her insulin dose accordingly. The patient was also advised on the appropriate diet and exercise regimen to maintain healthy blood glucose levels.

Nursing Diagnosis & Patient Goal:

The nursing diagnosis for this patient is “risk for unstable blood glucose levels related to insulin deficiency.” The goal is to maintain stable blood glucose levels within the target range to prevent acute complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and long-term complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy.

Nursing Interventions:

The nursing interventions for this patient include monitoring blood glucose levels frequently, administering insulin therapy as prescribed, educating the patient and family on the importance of insulin therapy, and promoting a healthy diet and exercise regimen. According to a study by El-Khateeb et al. (2020), continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) can be an effective tool in managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes patients. Therefore, CGM was recommended for this patient to improve blood glucose control.

Evaluation:

After the implementation of nursing interventions, the patient’s blood glucose levels remained within the target range, and she did not experience any acute complications such as DKA. The patient and family were educated on how to manage blood glucose levels independently at home.

Recommendations:

The patient and family should continue to monitor blood glucose levels regularly, adjust insulin dose as needed, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The patient should follow up regularly with healthcare providers to ensure proper management of type 1 diabetes. The use of CGM should also be considered for long-term management.

References:

El-Khateeb, M., Shahzad, M., Al-Amoudi, H., & Hassan, M. (2020). Continuous glucose monitoring improves glycemic control in type 1 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, 22(10), 734-741. doi: 10.