Cirrhosis Case Study

1. ECF potassium levels affect resting membrane potential. Hyperkalemia (excessive levels of potassium in the blood) and hypokalemia (abnormally low blood potassium levels) both affect the function of nerves and muscles.

Potassium works with sodium to regulate the body’s water balance. The kidneys help to control the blood pressure by controlling the amount of fluid stored in the body. Therefore, the more fluid then the higher the blood pressure is. The kidneys do this by filtering out the blood and extracting any extra fluid, which then is stored in the bladder as urine. This is done very delicately as both sodium and potassium pull the water across the wall of the cells from the bloodstream into a collecting channel that leads to the bladder. When eating to much salt, the amount of sodium in the bloodstream will be imbalanced compared to the amount of potassium and thus reducing the ability of the kidneys remove the extra fluid. Eating more fruit and vegetables, the potassium levels increase and can help restore the chemical imbalance. However, there is a possibility of too much potassium, also known as hyperkalemia, which can lead to other issues like renal failure.

?The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? is a short story by Washington Irving. Based on a well-known legend, this story tells the tale of the disappearance of the main character, Ichabod Crane. An effective ghost story, Irving leaves you guessing what the truth is behind the ending. The movie Sleepy Hollow is Hollywood?s portrayal of Irving?s original story. Although the movie is similar to the story in the beginning, the movie takes a twist that leads in another direction that strays far from the original plot.

The patients GGT would be elevated also if he was experiencing an acute episode of hepatitis B.

In patients with renal failure the two most common electrolyte abnormalities are hyperkalemia and hypermagnesemia. Hyperkalemia results due to decreased renal excretion resulting from renal failure. Both of these abnormalities are initially treated with IV calcium gluconate if the patients are symptomatic. The calcium is given to antagonize the effects of hyperkalemia and hypermagnesemia. The calcium acts to protect the heart muscle temporarily until other treatments can be administered. It is imperative to monitor the patient closely with and ECG when IV calcium is administered due to calcium induced

Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of normal, healthy liver tissue by fibrotic scar tissue, blocking the flow of blood through the organ and preventing it from working as it should, as well as regenerative nodules leading to progressive loss of liver function. The liver, the largest organ in the body, is vital in keeping the body functioning properly. It removes or neutralizes poisons from the blood, produces immune agents to control infection, and removes germs and bacteria from the blood. It

In the presented case scenario, we have Mr. Gil Martin who is a 55-year-old Hispanic male. He comes in to the clinic today with complaints of weakness, fatigue, and loss of appetite. A student nurse will be precepting your assessment of Mr. Martin and when collecting subjective and objective data it is important to pay close detail to all findings. Ultimately this patient was diagnosis with cirrhosis, which is an abnormal liver condition that leads to irreversible scarring of the liver (National Institute of Health [NIH], 2017), so during assessment we should pay attention to details leading to this diagnosis.

As the Directors at Sharp Reese Medical Facility it is important to raise awareness about the importance of the liver to the human body and the many important functions that it performs for the body such as digestion and the filtration of toxins and drugs from

The liver is a large, internal organ in the body that has many different and very important functions. The liver produces bile, which helps with the neutralization of stomach acid. It acts as storage area for glycogen and vitamins, converts nutrients and substances into more user friendly ones, acts as a detoxifying agent, phagocytizes dead cells, and can synthesize new compounds. (VanPutte et al., 2014) Cirrhosis is a disease of the liver that replaces healthy liver cells called hepatocytes, with hardened tissue, affecting liver functions and blood flow. (VanPutte et al., 2014)

The liver is essential to digestion and subsequent metabolic processes. It is a plays a large part in the processing of carbohydrates and lipids. As carbohydrates are absorbed in the small intestine, they are first brought to the liver via the portal vein. Depending on the needs of the body, the liver will either store excess glucose as glycogen or breakdown glycogen to release glucose into the bloodstream. Lipids are not soluble in water and cannot be efficiently absorbed without bile produced by the liver. Bile emulsifies fats and allows lipase, an essential protease produced by the pancreas, to effectively break down complex lipids for absorption.

Typically, the kidneys can maintain blood potassium within a health range, excreting extra when necessary. But when one cannot efficiently eliminate excess potassium, hyperkalemia occurs.

The liver is a key organ when it comes to making the body function properly (National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, 2003). As the second largest organ the body has, next to the skin, it serves many purposes. It produces immune agents to control infections, removes germs, bacteria and poisons from the blood, and it makes proteins that produce bile and keep

Potassium (K+) is a major intracellular cation and is responsible for electrical conduction throughout the body. Additionally, it is necessary for proper heart and muscle function, and digestion. The normal serum potassium range is between 3.5-5.0 mEq/L; hyperkalemia occurs when potassium levels exceed 5.0 mEq/L. Monitoring and treating hyperkalemia is quintessential to primary care as excess potassium can heart blocks and ventricular fibrillation which can result in sudden death (Pannone et al., 2012).

Because of Mr.K.B history, potassium imbalance may have more serious effects on him because he has a history of heart problems, and an abnormal level of potassium may causes cardiac arrhythmias and may progress to a cardiac arrest. (Gould, VanMeter, & Hubert

Symptoms of potassium deficiency are signs such as cholris, which is scorching of plant leaves, causing yellowing of the margins of the plants leaves and this is the first symptoms of potassium deficiency. Slow or stunted growth, for potassium is a very important part of the growth catalyst in plants. Poor resistance to temperature changes and also to drought, for poor intake will cause less circulation in the plant, this is the reasoning behind the plant being more susceptible to drought and temperature changes. Defoliation causes plants to lose their leaves sooner than they should and this will increase if the plant is exposed to drought or high temperatures. This all causes the leaves to turn yellow, then brown and eventually fall off one by one. Some other symptoms will include poor resistance of pests, weak and unhealthy roots, and uneven ripening of