Unrelieved pain can cause hypokalemia, which can have an impact on many physiological systems. Hormones that control fluid and electrolyte balance are produced more frequently when pain is not addressed. Increased sodium levels and decreased potassium levels produce fluid retention and overload as well as an increase in heart and respiratory workload, which in turn raises blood pressure. The sympathetic nervous system is activated by pain, which also causes dilated pupils and increased perspiration.
Before and throughout chemotherapy, almost all patients experience anxiety and worry, so the nurse's top duty should be to provide the patient a chance to communicate her thoughts. Giving a patient some time to vent their emotions and gather their composure usually suffices to allow them to continue with their therapy, but the patient should be given as much time as necessary and should not be pressured into receiving treatment she is not emotionally ready for.
The main treatment for someone who has been diagnosed with neutropenic enterocolitis (typhlitis) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Typhlitis is primarily a bacterial infection of the cecum, though it can also affect the colon. It is possible for ulcerations to form on the lining of the intestine and cecum, leading to perforation. The pathogens Clostridium difficile and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are most frequently linked to neutropenic enterocolitis.
Oral herpes simplex virus is the likely diagnosis if a patient experiences excruciating vesicular and crusting blisters on the lips, mouth, and gums while receiving chemotherapy. Due to immunosuppression, chemotherapy might cause the herpes simplex virus to reactivate. Usually, the lesions last for one to two weeks. Antiviral medications like acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famciclovir are used in treatment. Antiviral prophylaxis may be administered to some patients.
Phase I: The safety, dose, and side effects of a medicine or other treatment are assessed.
Antimetabolites act during a particular stage of the cell cycle and are therefore cell-cycle specific. Antimetabolites prevent the metabolites needed for RNA and DNA synthesis from occurring (S phase action). Methotrexate, cytarabine, and 5-FU are antimetabolites. The cell cycle contains three distinct cell phases: the interphase (G1, where RNA and protein synthesis take place, S, where DNA synthesis takes place, and G2, where DNA synthesis is finished and mitotic spindles form), the mitotic phase (M, where mitosis with cell division takes place), and the dormant resting phase (G0).
A 12 represents a moderate brain damage. The intensity of coma and altered states of consciousness are assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale. It consists of three parameters: verbal reaction (1–5), physical response (1–6), and eye opening response (1–4). The scores are totaled, and brain damage is categorized based on the score: severe head injury, coma (3 to 8).
