mimi3091
This assessment task asks students to consider the following health…
This assessment task asks students to consider the following health challenge and address the points listed below:
Health Challenge: Bacterial sepsis post right Total Knee Replacement (TKR)
If you aren’t familiar with this health challenge, split it up and look it up.
Bacterial- the type of organism causing the infection. (This could also be a fungus, virus, parasites, but for this task, it is bacterial). This is important to know as our pharmacological management of these conditions will differ depending on the organism.
Sepsis- Module 2. This is a complication of an infection with a specific set of signs and symptoms. It is an uncontrolled infection that is having a systemic affect on the person’s body.
Post- AFTER the surgery this has occurred.
Right- The side of the body the surgery occurred.
Total Knee Replacement- Sometimes abbreviated as TKR. This is a 1-2 hour surgery completed by an orthopaedic surgeon. Damaged cartilage and bone is removed and the knee joint is replaced with an implant or prosthesis made of metal and plastic. The wound is closed through primary intention using staples or sutures and the patient usually has a few nights in hospital recovering. There may be a bellovac type drain in place to remove additional blood, fluids and debris, and a PICO dressing, that works by gentle suctioning to heal the wound. An infection after this surgery usually results from the wound itself, or from a deep infection in where the metal and plastic components of the prosthesis are. An infection occurring after the knee replacement is reportable, and currently in Australia approximately 1% of people who undergo this procedure will experience an infection afterward.
This assessment task, you will notice, does not ask you to define or describe anything. This means that we expect that you know or are able to find out what the elements of the task are, and can demonstrate your knowledge through explaining them. Please try not to provide definitions in your introduction or throughout your paper as this does not demonstrate the level of knowledge expected and will use up valuable words.
The task asks you to:
Explain the underlying pathophysiology that results in each of the following abnormal assessment findings in the context of Bacterial sepsis post right TKR.
This means that you do not select which ones you would like to talk about, you need to explain the pathophysiological processes for each. A pass answer would explain them all individually, and a HD answer would identify the interconnecting processes that result in more than a single assessment finding. Please refer to the marking criteria to see the differentiation in grades.
Introduction
Peripheral pulse rate 110bpm
Blood pressure 80/50mmHg
Body temperature via auxilla 38.4 degrees Celsius
Disorientated to time and place
Surgical site red, hot, painful and inflamed with purulent discharge
