The opioid epidemic in the United States has raised critical concerns about the appropriate use of opioids for chronic pain management. As advanced nursing practice pharmacology students, understanding the risks, benefits, and evidence-based strategies is essential. How to safely approach chronic pain patients while minimizing the potential for opioid misuse and overdose?

Every student must provide a substantive response to the topic of the discussion 

APA format is mandatory. At least 3 appropriate references should be used. No “IA” 

Post at least 350 words.

Turnitin less than 20 %

 

Discuss the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of your assigned disease process. Which clinical manifestations observed in Bayani’s case could be explained by the pathophysiological mechanisms? 

Cirrhosis can have multiple etiologies including hepatitis, metabolic syndrome (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), and alcohol abuse over a long period of time (Mayo Clinic, 2025). Cirrhosis is the process of the liver being injured and forming scar tissue, which then impairs it’s function (Mayo Clinic, 2025).

Analyze Bayani’s clinical manifestations in the context of your assigned disease process. Do these findings support a diagnosis of your assigned disease process? Why or why not?  

Bayani’s clinical manifestations of abdominal pain and altered mental status are consistent with cirrhosis; however, most of his symptoms are not related to cirrhosis. Clients with cirrhosis usually have ascites, which would make their abdomen appear taut and distended, rather than soft and non-distended. Additionally, frequent urination, foul smelling urine, and drinking more water than usual are not common findings in cirrhosis, but rather diabetes and a UTI as evidenced by the increased water intake, foul smelling urine, and frequent urination. Patients with diabetes are more likely to develop urinary tract infections and experience complications related to urinary tract infection (Ahmed et al., 2023).

Identify and justify the diagnostic tests (including labs, imaging, or other diagnostic tests) that would be most appropriate for investigating a diagnosis of your assigned disease process in Bayani. What could the results of these tests look like in your assigned disease process? 

Diagnostics for cirrhosis include labs for liver function, including alanine aminotransferase, aspartame aminotransferase, and Y-galactosyltransferase which would all be elevated (Rogers & Brashers, 2023). You would also expect elevated bilirubin levels. In a patient with cirrhosis, you would anticipate decreased levels of albumin and longer prothrombin times (Rogers & Brashers, 2023). A liver biopsy can be done if needed to confirm cirrhosis; however, it is invasive and not always necessary (Rogers & Brashers, 2023). While these tests are appropriate for a patient with suspected cirrhosis, they do not seem appropriate for Bayani, as his clinical manifestations do not align with cirrhosis.

References

Ahmed, A. E., Abdelkarim, S., Zenida, M., Baiti, M. A., Alhazmi, A. A., Alfaifi, B. A., Majrabi, R. Q., Khormi, N. Q., Hakami, A. A., Alqaari, R. A., Alhasani, R. A., Alajam, R. A., Alshehri, M. M., Alenazi, A. M., Alqahtani, B., Alshamrani, M., Alhowimel, A., & Abdelwahab, S. I. (2023). Prevalence and associated risk factors of urinary tract infection among diabetic patients: A cross-sectional study. Healthcare, 11(6), 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11060861

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2025, February 22). Cirrhosis. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cirrhosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351487

Rogers, J. L., & Brashers, V. L. (2023). McCance & Huether’s pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children. Elsevier.

Instructions:

SOAP is an acronym that stands for Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan. The episodic SOAP note is to be written using the attached template below.

For all the SOAP note assignments, you will write a SOAP note about one of your patients and use the following acronym:

S =Subjective data: Patient’s Chief Complaint (CC).O =Objective data: Including client behavior, physical assessment, vital signs, and meds.A =Assessment: Diagnosis of the patient’s condition. Include differential diagnosis.P =Plan: Treatment, diagnostic testing, and follow up

Click here to access and download the SOAP Note TemplateDownload Click here to access and download the SOAP Note Template

Submission Instructions:

• Your SOAP note should be clear and concise and students will lose points for improper grammar, punctuation, and misspellings.
• You must use the template provided. 

The question is attached, about homework of theoretical

 

1. Identify and select a collaborative diagnosis of HEPATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY.
2. Identify and connect individualized precipitating/contributing factors to the selected diagnosis.
3. Identify and map out collaborative problems and abnormalities connected to the selected primary diagnosis.
4. Develop the connections between the pathophysiology, identified problems, diagnostic tests, interventions, medications etc on the map.
5. Be able to explain rationales for the connections made. (Not just that events occurred, but “why” events happened).
6. At least FOUR current (within 5 years) scientific, juried (peer reviewed)resources should be reviewed, referenced and included in the presentation.  (Copies of the articles are to be provided to the faculty)