Question

Adult trauma: Identify relevant data including pathophysiology, causative agent, levels of reactions as appropriate (mild, mod, level 1 – 4, etc.) What would they look like? What would vital signs look like? Mentation?

Answer 1

Addressing the root cause of adult trauma can be an effective way to manage both physical and emotional symptoms.According to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster.”However, a person may experience trauma as a response to any event they find physically or emotionally threatening or harmful.

A traumatized adult person can feel a range of emotions both immediately after the event and in the long term. They may feel overwhelmed, helpless, shocked, or have difficulty processing their experiences. Trauma can also cause physical symptoms.Trauma can have long-term effects on the person’s well-being. If symptoms persist and do not decrease in severity, it can indicate that the trauma has developed into a mental health disorder called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

There are several types of adult trauma, including:

Acute trauma: This results from a single stressful or dangerous event.
Chronic trauma: This results from repeated and prolonged exposure to highly stressful events. Examples include cases of child abuse, bullying, or domestic violence.
Complex trauma: This results from exposure to multiple traumatic events.
Secondary trauma, or vicarious trauma, is another form of trauma. With this form of trauma, a person develops trauma symptoms from close contact with someone who has experienced a traumatic event.Family members, mental health professionals, and others who care for those who have experienced a traumatic event are at risk of vicarious trauma.

Psychological trauma in an adult is a response to an event that a person finds highly stressful. Examples include being in a war zone, a natural disaster, or an accident. Trauma can cause a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms.Not everyone who experiences a stressful event will develop trauma. There are also various types of trauma. Some people will develop symptoms that resolve after a few weeks, while others will have more long-term effects.With treatment, people can address the root cause of the trauma and find constructive ways to manage their symptoms.

Addressing the root cause of adult trauma can be an effective way to manage both physical and emotional symptoms.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster.”A traumatized person can feel a range of emotions both immediately after the event and in the long term. They may feel overwhelmed, helpless, shocked, or have difficulty processing their experiences. Trauma can also cause physical symptoms.Trauma can have long-term effects on the person’s well-being. If symptoms persist and do not decrease in severity, it can indicate that the trauma has developed into a mental health disorder called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

There are several types of adult trauma, including:

Acute trauma: This results from a single stressful or dangerous event.
Chronic trauma: This results from repeated and prolonged exposure to highly stressful events. Examples include cases of child abuse, bullying, or domestic violence.
Complex trauma: This results from exposure to multiple traumatic events.
Secondary trauma, or vicarious trauma, is another form of trauma. With this form of trauma, a person develops trauma symptoms from close contact with someone who has experienced a traumatic event.

Symptoms
The symptoms of adult trauma range from mild to severe. Many factors determine how a traumatic event affects a person, including:

• their characteristics
• the presence of other mental health conditions
• previous exposure to traumatic events
• thetype and characteristics of the event or events
• their background and approach to handling emotions

Emotional and psychological responses

A person who has experienced trauma may feel:

• denial
• anger
• fear
• sadness
• shame
• confusion
• anxiety
• depression
• numbness
• guilt
• hopelessness
• irritability
• difficultyconcentrating

They may have emotional outbursts, find it difficult to cope with how they feel, or withdraw from others. Flashbacks, where a person relives the traumatic event in their mind, are common, as are nightmares.

Physical responses

Along with an emotional reaction, trauma can cause physical symptoms, such as:

• headaches
• digestivesymptoms
• fatigue
• racingheart
• sweating
• feeling jumpy

Sometimes, a person will also experience hyperarousal, or when someone feels as though they are in a constant state of alertness. This may make it difficult to sleep.Individuals may also go on to develop other mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse problems.

Mental reactions to trauma ( Mentation)

1. reduced concentration and memory
2. intrusivethoughts about the event
3. repeatedly playing parts of the event over in the mind
4. confusion or disorientation.

I will mention an example of spleen trauma for an adult in an accident and the data's related to that.

Causes:

A liver injury, also known as liver laceration, is some form of trauma sustained to the liver. This can occur through either a blunt force such as a car accident, or a penetrating foreign object such as a knife. Liver injuries constitute 5% of all traumas, making it the most common abdominal injury.

Symptoms: adult with liver injury and severe bleeding have symptoms of shock, including a rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, and cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin. People also have abdominal pain and tenderness because blood in the abdomen irritates the abdominal tissue.

The majority of patients admitted for liver injuries have grade I, II or III and are successfully treated with nonoperative management (NOM). In contrast, almost two-thirds of grade IV or V injuries require laparotomy (operative management). This is a traumatic situation.

Most (~80%) of liver injuries are minor (grades I to III). There is a range of injuries:

1. laceration (most common)
2. hematoma- subcapsular or intraparenchymal
3. activehemorrhage
4. majorhepatic vein injury
5. arteriovenous(AV) fistula
6. bile duct injury

Vital signs changes:

First glance at a patient with advanced liver damage in accidents may be with muscle wasting, obvious ascites, peripheral edema, and clues of mental difficulties (hepatic encephalopathy). The basic vital signs may classically indicate low normal to low blood pressure, normal heart rate, and an increased respiratory rate.

Mentation

Acute liver damage represents the most severe damage an organ can sustain and can lead to shock, coagulopathy, altered mentation, cerebral edema, renal failure, infection, and, ultimately, multiorgan failure.Hepatic encephalopathy starts when your liver gets damaged from a trauma you've had a long time ago. It doesn't work right anymore, and toxins get into your bloodstream and travel to your brain. They build up there and cause the mental and physical symptoms of brain disorders which can affect the memory of the adult.