Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper

A 42-year-old male reports pain in his lower back for the past month. The pain sometimes radiates to his left leg. In determining the cause of the back pain, based on your knowledge of anatomy, what nerve roots might be involved? How would you test for each of them? What other symptoms need to be explored? What are your differential diagnoses for acute low back pain? Consider the possible origins using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) guidelines as a framework. What physical examination will you perform? What special maneuvers will you perform? Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper

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Review this week’s Learning Resources, and consider the insights they provide about the case study.
Consider what history would be necessary to collect from the patient in the case study you were assigned.
Consider what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate to gather more information about the patient’s condition. How would the results be used to make a diagnosis?
Identify at least five possible conditions that may be considered in a differential diagnosis for the patient.
Post an episodic/focused note about the patient in the case study to which you were assigned using the episodic/focused note template provided in the Week 5 resources. Provide evidence from the literature to support diagnostic tests that would be appropriate for each case. List five different possible conditions for the patient’s differential diagnosis, and justify why you selected each Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper.

Patient Information:

Initials: K. L.

Age: 42 years

Sex: Male

Race: Caucasian

CC: Low back pain for one month

HPI: The patient is a 42-year-old Caucasian man who has been experiencing lower back pain since struggling to lift a large object at work a month ago. The pain is described as “sharp and scorching” and radiates down his leg’s left side. Sleep deprivation and difficulty working are among the symptoms described by the patient. With exercise, bending over, and straining, the pain worsens. The level of discomfort is an eight on a ten-point scale. Rest and ibuprofen 600mg orally every four hours to relieve pain, which is assessed at a four out of 10 for intensity Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper.

Location: low back

Onset: one month ago

Character: the pain is sharp and scorching and radiates down his leg’s left side.

Associated signs and symptoms: sleep deprivation

Timing: after straining, bending, or exercise

Exacerbating/ relieving factors: exacerbated with bending or straining, relieved by taking pain medication.

Severity: 4/10 pain scale

Current Medications: ibuprofen 200mg prn pain, Losartan 50mg orally daily, and rosuvastatin 20mg orally daily.

Allergies: No Known Food or Drug Allergies, allergic to latex or pollen.

PMH: The patient denies having ever had arthritis or osteoporosis in her past. The patient has a history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia that is controlled with medication, seasonal allergies, and cholecystectomy on August 17th, 2018. Pt denies having undergone any other procedures or hospitalization. Tdap (06/12/2021) and flu and pneumonia vaccines (10/07/2021) are all current on the patient’s medical record.

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Soc Hx: the patient enjoys spending time with friends and playing slow-pitch softball. He also used to play baseball while in college. The patient is married with two teenage children who live in a remote region, attend church regularly, and volunteer their time. The patient denies using illicit drugs or cigarettes.

Fam Hx: Father 64 with hypertension and hyperlipidemia; mother 60 with hypothyroidism; wife 34; son 14, healthy; daughter 12, healthy; mother 60 with hypertension and hypothyroidism; father 64; mother 60; wife 34; son 14, healthy; daughter 12, healthy Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper.

ROS:

GENERAL: fatigue, weakness, denies having fever.

HEENT: patient denies changes in vision or blurry vision and denies cough, congestion, or hearing loss.

SKIN: reports no itching or rash

CARDIOVASCULAR: no dizziness, chest pain, or edema.

RESPIRATORY: denies cough, wheezing, or sputum

GASTROINTESTINAL: No nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea

GENITOURINARY: patient denies polyuria, dysuria, frequency, or urgency.

NEUROLOGICAL: patient denies dizziness, headache, syncope, or hx of fainting

MUSCULOSKELETAL: Lower back pain that radiates down the patient’s left leg is creating aberrant gait patterns and restricted range of motion in the patient. The patient denies having ever had arthritis, gout, or a fall.

HEMATOLOGIC: No anemia, bleeding, or bruising.

LYMPHATICS: No enlarged nodes. No history of splenectomy.

PSYCHIATRIC: No history of depression or anxiety.

ENDOCRINOLOGIC: No reports of sweating, cold, or heat intolerance. No polyuria or polydipsia.

ALLERGIES: No history of asthma, hives, eczema, or rhinitis.

Physical exam

V/S: V/ S: B/P 130/80, P 87, RR 19, T 98.4 F, O2 97%, Wt 202lbs, Ht 71”

GENERAL: The patient is sitting straight on the test table with a small grimace, and some grumbling can be heard. NAD, which is neatly groomed and appropriately attired, gives the impression that he is older than he appears. The patient is attentive and gives thoughtful responses.

HEENT: the mouth has no ulcers, no scars, ears are in the correct orientation.

CHEST: no chest pains, no wheezes, normal breath sounds.

MUSKULOSKELETAL: Muscle tone and strength are excellent, except for the left leg, which is weak due to pain. Pain in the lower back left hip, and a lack of mobility causes the left leg. Scoliosis is not present, and the spine is straight and symmetrical with no masses or nodules palpable and no soreness observed. The back is symmetrical.

Diagnostic results:

x-ray: To eliminate the possibility of a broken bone, a tumor, or bony protrusion, an X-ray is performed (Jenkins et al., 2018). Low Back Pain (Acute) claimed that quick x-ray use was not evidence-based practice, and AHRQ suggests waiting six weeks if pain continues to perform x-rays (Fujimoto et al., 2109)Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper.

Differential Diagnoses

Lumber sciatica- Lower back discomfort should always be considered to be caused by radiculopathy, which is caused by compression of nerve roots and results in back pain that radiates into the lower extremities (Kim et al., 2018).
Degenerative disc disease- Back discomfort radiates down the leg when fibrocartilage-based structures between the vertebrae begin to degrade or protrude against nerve roots or the spinal cord, which is what causes this problem (Battié, Joshi & Gibbons, 2019).
Lumbar spinal stenosis- pain that begins in the lower back and buttocks and can travel down the legs can be caused by a narrowing of the spinal cord canal caused by bone or ligament hypertrophy (Lee et al., 2020)Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper.
Spinal fracture- An injury to the vertebrae in the lower back can result in discomfort and the irritation of nerve roots, which can cause pain to radiate via the affected nerves.
Lumbar muscle strain- present with pain in the lower back which is relieved by lying flat.

References

Battié, M. C., Joshi, A. B., & Gibbons, L. E. (2019). Degenerative disc disease. Spine, 44(21), 1523-1529. https://doi.org/10.1097/brs.0000000000003103

Fujimoto, K., Inage, K., Eguchi, Y., Orita, S., Toyoguchi, T., Yamauchi, K., Suzuki, M., Kubota, G., Sainoh, T., Sato, J., Shiga, Y., Abe, K., Kanamoto, H., Inoue, M., Kinoshita, H., Norimoto, M., Umimura, T., Koda, M., Furuya, T., … Ohtori, S. (2019). Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry and Bioelectrical impedance analysis are beneficial tools for measuring the trunk muscle mass of patients with low back pain. Spine Surgery and Related Research, 3(4), 335-341. https://doi.org/10.22603/ssrr.2018-0040

Jenkins, H. J., Downie, A. S., Maher, C. G., Moloney, N. A., Magnussen, J. S., & Hancock, M. J. (2018). Imaging for low back pain: Is clinical use consistent with guidelines? A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Spine Journal, 18(12), 2266-2277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spinee.2018.05.004

Kim, J., Van Rijn, R. M., Van Tulder, M. W., Koes, B. W., De Boer, M. R., Ginai, A. Z., Ostelo, R. W., Van der Windt, D. A., & Verhagen, A. P. (2018). Diagnostic accuracy of diagnostic imaging for lumbar disc herniation in adults with low back pain or sciatica is unknown; a systematic review. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-018-0207-x

Lee, B. H., Moon, S., Suk, K., Kim, H., Yang, J., & Lee, H. (2020). Lumbar spinal stenosis: Pathophysiology and treatment principle: A narrative review. Asian Spine Journal, 14(5), 682-693. https://doi.org/10.31616/asj.2020.0472 Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper

Episodic/Focused SOAP Note Template

Patient Information:

Initials, Age, Sex, Race

CC (chief complaint) a BRIEF statement identifying why the patient is here – in the patient’s own words – for instance “headache”, NOT “bad headache for 3 days”.

HPI: This is the symptom analysis section of your note. Thorough documentation in this section is essential for patient care, coding, and billing analysis. Paint a picture of what is wrong with the patient. Use LOCATES Mnemonic to complete your HPI. You need to start EVERY HPI with age, race, and gender (e.g., 34-year-old AA male). You must include the seven attributes of each principal symptom in paragraph form not a list. If the CC was “headache”, the LOCATES for the HPI might look like the following example:

Location: head

Onset: 3 days ago

Character: pounding, pressure around the eyes and temples

Associated signs and symptoms: nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia

Timing: after being on the computer all day at work

Exacerbating/ relieving factors: light bothers eyes, Aleve makes it tolerable but not completely better

Severity: 7/10 pain scale

Current Medications: include dosage, frequency, length of time used and reason for use; also include OTC or homeopathic products.

Allergies: include medication, food, and environmental allergies separately (a description of what the allergy is ie angioedema, anaphylaxis, etc. This will help determine a true reaction vs intolerance)Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper.

PMHx: include immunization status (note date of last tetanus for all adults), past major illnesses and surgeries. Depending on the CC, more info is sometimes needed

Soc Hx: include occupation and major hobbies, family status, tobacco & alcohol use (previous and current use), any other pertinent data. Always add some health promo question here – such as whether they use seat belts all the time or whether they have working smoke detectors in the house, living environment, text/cell phone use while driving, and support system.

Fam Hx: illnesses with possible genetic predisposition, contagious or chronic illnesses. Reason for death of any deceased first degree relatives should be included. Include parents, grandparents, siblings, and children. Include grandchildren if pertinent.

ROS: cover all body systems that may help you include or rule out a differential diagnosis You should list each system as follows: General: Head: EENT: etc. You should list these in bullet format and document the systems in order from head to toe. Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper

Example of Complete ROS:

GENERAL: No weight loss, fever, chills, weakness or fatigue.

HEENT: Eyes: No visual loss, blurred vision, double vision or yellow sclerae. Ears, Nose, Throat: No hearing loss, sneezing, congestion, runny nose or sore throat.

SKIN: No rash or itching.

CARDIOVASCULAR: No chest pain, chest pressure or chest discomfort. No palpitations or edema.

RESPIRATORY: No shortness of breath, cough or sputum.

GASTROINTESTINAL: No anorexia, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. No abdominal pain or blood.

GENITOURINARY: Burning on urination. Pregnancy. Last menstrual period, MM/DD/YYYY.

NEUROLOGICAL: No headache, dizziness, syncope, paralysis, ataxia, numbness or tingling in the extremities. No change in bowel or bladder control.

MUSCULOSKELETAL: No muscle, back pain, joint pain or stiffness.

HEMATOLOGIC: No anemia, bleeding or bruising.

LYMPHATICS: No enlarged nodes. No history of splenectomy.

PSYCHIATRIC: No history of depression or anxiety.

ENDOCRINOLOGIC: No reports of sweating, cold or heat intolerance. No polyuria or polydipsia. Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper

ALLERGIES: No history of asthma, hives, eczema or rhinitis.

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Physical exam: From head-to-toe, include what you see, hear, and feel when doing your physical exam. You only need to examine the systems that are pertinent to the CC, HPI, and History. Do not use “WNL” or “normal.” You must describe what you see. Always document in head to toe format i.e. General: Head: EENT: etc.

Diagnostic results: Include any labs, x-rays, or other diagnostics that are needed to develop the differential diagnoses (support with evidenced and guidelines)

Differential Diagnoses (list a minimum of 3 differential diagnoses).Your primary or presumptive diagnosis should be at the top of the list. For each diagnosis, provide supportive documentation with evidence based guidelines. Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper

This section is not required for the assignments in this course (NURS 6512) but will be required for future courses.

References

You are required to include at least three evidence based peer-reviewed journal articles or evidenced based guidelines which relates to this case to support your diagnostics and differentials diagnoses. Be sure to use correct APA 6^th edition formatting.

Case Study For Back Pain Assignment Paper