Mary the Nursing Student

Mary is 39 -year-old LPN and single mother who is attending a local community college to prepare for an A.S. degree in nursing so she can then become an RN. Mary has not been feeling well for several months. She has had bouts of nausea, a low fever, and has found that she no longer enjoys eating and smoking as much as she used to. She has also noticed that her urine is darker than usual and she has yellowing of her eyes. She has noted that she has a puffy appearance. Results of blood tests at her doctor’s office reveal that her ALT, AST , alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin levels are elevated and that she also has an elevated count of lymphocytes. Further tests reveal that she is positive for the presence …show more content…

These cells manufacture structural proteins, enzymes, and membranes. After production of these components they are shed in small packets which are the platelets. The rate of the activity in these platelets are controlled by the hormones mentioned above. P.660 and 661

The blood clotting test used is usually what is called a Prothrombin Time Blood Test-PT or the International Normalized Ratio - INR. It is taken to determine the bloods ability to clot. It measures the clotting time of the blood where normal PT values are 10-12 seconds. http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/prothrombin-time What impact does the illness have on blood viscosity? Discuss platelet, RBC, albumin, clotting proteins, cryoglobin, and antibody levels.
Blood viscosity is a resistance to flow due to interactions among molecules within a liquid. Viscosity levels range dramatically depending on may factors like water content, systole or diastole BP, strength of arterial and venous walls and many others. NEED TO FIND NORMAL LEVELS AND HCV LEVELS

Describe the impact the illness will have on Mary’s digestive system. Discuss changes in blood flow to the digestive tract and the digestive functions of the organ affected. How will Mary’s stool appear?

Since Mary is into stage IV of HCV she is facing total liver failure. If her liver fails to work then many things could happen. The liver functions to feed bile droplets into the intestines filled with bile salts,