Question

Your patient presented to the emergency room with acute alcohol toxicity and has a history of drinking 1/5 of Vodka per day for the past 15 years. During his stay in the ICU he went through a very hard withdrawal period experiencing delirium tremens. He is now on your med / s * u * r * g floor not requiring CIWA protocol any longer but with severe pancreatitis. He will have to be NPO for weeks and will require TPN with Lipids at home . You will need to teach your patient how to maintain his picc line and administer TPN to himself before he is discharged .

what is the patient education?

Answer 1

Drinking alcohol on daily basis causes severe damage on the bodily major organs like it affect liver, digestive system, neuromuscular system etc. long term usage of alcohol causes toxicity in the body . Intake of alcohol for short duration causes acute alcohol toxicity. It doesn’t affect body in initial stages but if the person developed a habit of taking alcohol on daily basis causes severe damage in their body.

Some of the side effects of alcohol on the body organs are given below:

1. Drinking too much alcohol affects the digestive system causes abnormal activation of digestive enzymes produced by pancreas.

2. It damage the major organ liver who basically detoxify and remove toxicity from the body. Large consumption of alcohol can lead to liver cirrhosis.

3. It directly affect the pancreatic system due to which the production of insulin stop and the level of sugar in blood rises and a condition occurs called hyperglycemia.

Now, let’s back to the case study, so here the question is we have to teach a patient how to maintain PICC line and administered TPN by himself.

TPN is total parenteral nutrition this is the way to get nutrition through a tube (catheter) in the vein. The TPN solution contains vitamins, minerals and other nutrition which a normal diet contains. It is given to those whose not having functional GI tract or disorder requiring complete bowel rest.

Now points teaches in hospital to take care of catheter and infuse TPN in short-

1. Prepare your work area where you do this process, the area should be sterilized properly.

2. Wash your hand properly before touching any supplies.

3. Care the solution, placed in refrigerator and used according to the prescription.

4. And if any of the problems arises, immediately call the health care unit.

Now point to remember to maintain PICC line-

1. Dressing should be dry, clean and secured to the skin.

2. Wash your hand before touching PICC line.

3. Do not use scissors

4. You may need to flush the line with saline or heparin.

5. Dispose dirty supplies into the trash.

6. Prohibited use of syringe, needle and any supplies once it used.

7. Keep your pets away from PICC line.

Learning outcomes for patient-

1. Patient should stop consuming alcohol.

2. As TPN infusion and PICC line requires sterilization then make sure your surrounding would be clean.

3. Dosages should be taken as per prescribed by the physician.

4. If any problem arises take a help of qualified nurse.