Patient With Leukemia Experiences Medical Emergency

Please respond to discussion below:

My new clinical location is fantastic! My preceptor is a lovely person who genuinely loves to instruct. She is an excellent healthcare professional who is meticulous. Seeing what this rotation has in store for me excites me.

Almost a year ago, a 42-year-old female patient who was due for a normal physical visited our office. My preceptor discovered that the patient’s platelets were elevated, coming in at 486 after her labs were drawn. She told the woman that she believed it would be best for her to visit a hematologist merely to perform additional blood tests. She notes that she was sent to an oncologist by the hematologist after her appointment today. She was found to have persistent leukemia, it turns out. Every patient with probable leukemia needs to be referred to an oncologist right away. The oncologist will direct treatment recommendations and chemotherapy adjustments, as well as supervise laboratory analysis (Dunphy, Winland-Brown, Porter, & Thomas, 2019, p. 991). Fortunately, she did not require chemotherapy, and she is doing well.

She went to the clinic today because she experienced vertigo last Thursday and woke up in the middle of the night. She claimed to have fallen on the ground after becoming quite dizzy. The following day, she stayed at home instead of going to work and spent the entire day in bed resting. She stated that her doctor neighbor, who lives next door, had come over to check on her and had given her some anti-vertigo and anti-nausea medication, which had seemed to help her. The headache pain diminished slightly but persisted for a few days later. She described it as the “worst headache of her life” during the course of the weekend as the pain grew worse throughout the day. On Monday, she made the decision to call her oncologist and leave a message. She spoke with the oncologist yesterday, and he advised her to visit the emergency department for an MRI. He was worried that since she had just been diagnosed with chronic leukemia, she might have a blood clot in her brain as a result of thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia is a common problem among leukemia types that can lead to hemorrhagic complications in patients (Shahrabi, Behzad, Jaseb, & Saki, 2018, p. 1). Unfortunately, she was reluctant to visit the emergency room because of her insurance and instead scheduled a visit with her regular care doctor, which brought her in today without her comprehending the seriousness of the problem.

Following her evaluation by the nurse practitioner, she noted that a previous authorization would be required in order to refer her for an MRI. This patient required an MRI today, and that procedure would take 4-5 days. Thank goodness, a hospital is directly across the street from the clinic. The patient should go right to the ED, according to my preceptor, as this might be a medical emergency.I hope this patient receives the information she requires, and I hope her MRI turns out nothing dangerous. We should have an answer before the end of the week, and I’ll be able to share it with you all.