Purpose
The purpose of this discussion forum is to create a collaborative environment in which you can strengthen your use of medical terminology and critical thinking skills while constructively sharing ideas and opinions regarding a medical scenario.
Directions
SCENARIO
Identifying Data:
This 72-year-old female presents with a biopsy-proven adenocarcinoma
of the sigmoid colon at 20 cm.
History of Present Illness:
The patient has been noted to have some bright red bleeding intermittently for approximately 8 months, initially presumable of a hemorrhoidal basis. She recently has had an intensification of rectal bleeding but no weight loss, anorexia, or obstructive pain. No significant diarrhea or constipation. Some low back pain, probably unrelated. A recent colonoscopy by Dr. Scoma revealed a large sessile (attached by a broad base) polyp, which was partially excised at 20-cm level, showing infiltrating adenocarcinoma at the base. The patient is to enter the hospital at this time after home antibiotic and mechanical bowel prep, to undergo sigmoid colectomy and possible further resection.
1. Using the scenario above, answer the following questions:
A. What chronic symptoms did this patient have? Describe the symptoms using medical terms.
B. What was the cause of her chronic symptoms?
C. What procedure did she have recently that diagnosed her condition? Name the procedure and briefly describe.
D. The patient is scheduled for what procedure? Briefly explain the procedure.
Follow these guidelines when answering the questions:
- Use a maximum of 100 words.
- Be clear, concise, and well organized using as many pertinent medical terms as possible.
- Be free of grammatical, mechanical, and format errors.
- Be in your own words (do not copy text directly from a website, text, or other reference materials) and contain citations from all
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
This discussion forum addresses a medical scenario involving a 72-year-old female presenting with a biopsy-proven adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon at 20 cm. The purpose of this forum is to enhance students’ medical terminology and critical thinking skills by collaboratively sharing ideas and opinions regarding the scenario.
A. The patient’s chronic symptoms include bright red bleeding intermittently for eight months, low back pain, and no significant diarrhea or constipation. The bright red bleeding is also presumable of a hemorrhoidal basis. These symptoms can be described as rectal bleeding, or hematochezia, and low back pain.
B. The cause of the patient’s chronic symptoms is adenocarcinoma. The large sessile polyp partially excised at the 20-cm level showed infiltrating adenocarcinoma at the base, causing the bright red bleeding.
C. The recent colonoscopy diagnosed the patient’s condition. Colonoscopy is a procedure in which a flexible tube with a camera is inserted through the rectum into the colon to view the interior lining.
D. The patient is scheduled for sigmoid colectomy and possible further resection. Sigmoid colectomy is a surgical procedure that involves removing part of the sigmoid colon, which is the last part of the colon before the rectum. Further resection may be required depending on the extent of the adenocarcinoma.
