Substance Abuse, Eating Disorders, Impulse Control Disorders no. 5027
QUESTION: A client is admitted to the emergency department after being found unconscious. Her blood pressure is 82/50 mm Hg. She is 5<font face="LWWSYM">X</font> 4" (1.6 m) tall, weighs 79 lb (35.8 kg), and appears dehydrated and emaciated. After regaining consciousness, she reports that she has had trouble eating lately and can't remember what she ate in the last 24 hours. She also states that she has had amenorrhea for the past year. She is convinced she is fat and refuses food. The nurse suspects that she has:
✘O a.) bulimia nervosa.
✓O b.) anorexia nervosa.
✘O c.) depression.
✘O d.) schizophrenia.
RATIONALERATIONALE: Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by self-imposed starvation with subsequent emaciation, nutritional deficiencies, and atrophic and metabolic changes. Typically, the client is hypotensive and dehydrated. Depending on the severity of the disorder, anorexic clients are at risk for circulatory collapse (indicated by hypotension), dehydration, and death. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting. Although depression may be accompanied by weight loss, it isn't characterized by a body image disturbance or the intense fear of obesity seen in clients with anorexia nervosa. Schizophrenia may cause bizarre eating patterns, but it rarely causes the full syndrome of anorexia nervosa.NURSING PROCESS STEP: AssessmentCLIENT NEEDS CATEGORY: Physiological integrityCLIENT NEEDS SUBCATEGORY: Reduction of risk potentialCOGNITIVE LEVEL: Knowledge
