LAB ASSIGNMENT DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS FOR SKIN CONDITIONS NURS 6512
Sample Answer for LAB ASSIGNMENT DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS FOR SKIN CONDITIONS NURS 6512 Included After Question
Properly identifying the cause and type of a patient’s skin condition involves a process of elimination known as differential diagnosis. Using this process, a health professional can take a given set of physical abnormalities, vital signs, health assessment findings, and patient descriptions of symptoms, and incrementally narrow them down until one diagnosis is determined as the most likely cause.
In this Lab Assignment, you will examine several visual representations of various skin conditions, describe your observations, and use the techniques of differential diagnosis to determine the most likely condition.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
TO PREPARE
- Review the Skin Conditions document provided in this week’s Learning Resources, and select one condition to closely examine for this Lab Assignment.
- Consider the abnormal physical characteristics you observe in the graphic you selected. How would you describe the characteristics using clinical terminologies?
- Explore different conditions that could be the cause of the skin abnormalities in the graphics you selected.
- Consider which of the conditions is most likely to be the correct diagnosis, and why.
- Search the Walden library for one evidence-based practice, peer-reviewed article based on the skin condition you chose for this Lab Assignment.
- Review the Comprehensive SOAP Exemplar found in this week’s Learning Resources to guide you as you prepare your SOAP note.
- Download the SOAP Template found in this week’s Learning Resources, and use this template to complete this Lab Assignment.
THE LAB ASSIGNMENT
- Choose one skin condition graphic (identify by number in your Chief Complaint) to document your assignment in the SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) note format rather than the traditional narrative style. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Comprehensive SOAP Template in this week’s Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that not all comprehensive SOAP data are included in every patient case.
- Use clinical terminologies to explain the physical characteristics featured in the graphic. Formulate a differential diagnosis of five possible conditions for the skin graphic that you chose. Determine which is most likely to be the correct diagnosis and explain your reasoning using at least three different references, one reference from current evidence-based literature from your search and two different references from this week’s Learning Resources.
BY DAY 7 OF WEEK 4
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A Sample Answer For the Assignment: LAB ASSIGNMENT DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS FOR SKIN CONDITIONS NURS 6512
Title: LAB ASSIGNMENT DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS FOR SKIN CONDITIONS NURS 6512
SUBJECTIVE DATA:
Chief Complaint (CC): “I have some stretch marks and a line on my abdomen’
History of Present Illness (HPI): A.T. is a 28-year-old female client that came to the clinic with complaints of abnormal stretch marks and a line on her abdomen. The client is pregnant. The gestation of her pregnancy is 28 weeks. She has never started her antenatal clinic visits. The patient reports that the problem started four weeks ago and she was hopeful that it would diminish over time. She denied any associated symptoms such as pain or itchiness. However, she was worried that she may be having a skin condition that would require immediate intervention. She has not used any skin medications for the problem.
Medications: The patient denied any current use of medications. She reported occasional use of Tylenol 1 gram for headaches.
Allergies: The patient reported allergic reaction to Penicillin and pollen. She denied food allergies.
Past Medical History (PMH): The patient reported a history of hospitalization when she was 18 years old because of pneumonia. She denied any history of chronic conditions such as diabetes and depression. She also denied any history of blood transfusion.
Past Surgical History (PSH): The patient denied any history of surgeries
Sexual/Reproductive History: The patient is sexually active. Her last menstrual period was 21/10/2022. She denied any history of sexually transmitted infections. She also denied any history of increased urgency, frequency, and dysuria. She does not have any history of pregnancy loss or use of contraceptives. She is heterosexual.
Personal/Social History: The patient is married. She is the first born in a family of three. Her parents are both alive. This is her first pregnancy. She works as an accountant in a local firm. She does not use alcohol or smokes. She engages in moderate physical activities twice weekly. She is a Christian. She considers her family her source of social support. She denies stress.
Health Maintenance: The patient engages in moderate exercises twice weekly. She does not take alcohol or smokes. She reports that she takes healthy diet. Her immunization record is up-to-date. She has not started her antenatal clinic despite her pregnancy being 28 weeks. She denies caffeine use. She has not undergone cervical cancer screening. She performs monthly self-breast examination. Her last dental and eye examinations were two years ago and were unremarkable.
Immunization History: Her immunization record is up-to-date.
Significant Family History: The client reports that her parents are both hypertensive. Her mother is diabetic. Her paternal grandmother and grandfather died of coronary artery disease. Her maternal grandmother died of cervical cancer. Her sister is obese. Her brother was recently diagnosed with substance use disorder.
General: The patient is well dressed for the occasion. She denied fatigue, fever, chills or night sweats. Reports weight gain of 10 pounds since she became pregnant.
HEENT: She denies changes in vision or hearing; she does wear glasses. She has no history of glaucoma, diplopia, floaters, excessive tearing or photophobia. She has had no recent ear infections, tinnitus, or discharge from the ears. She denied changes in sense of smell. She does not have a history of nasal polyps or recent sinus infection. She denied ulceration, lesions, gingivitis, gum bleeding, and has no dental appliances. She has had no difficulty chewing or swallowing.
Neck: She denies pain, injury, or history of disc disease or compression..
Breasts: She denies history of lesions, masses or rashes.
Respiratory: She denies cough, hemoptysis, difficulty breathing or chest pain. She a history of community acquired pneumonia when she was 18 years.
CV: She denies chest discomfort, palpitations, history of murmur. She has no history of arrhythmias, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, edema, or claudication.
GI: She denies nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain. She also denies changes in bowel/bladder pattern.
GU: She denies change in her urinary pattern, dysuria, or incontinence. She is heterosexual. She denies history of STD’s or HPV. She is sexually active.
MS: She denies arthralgia/myalgia, arthritis, gout or limitation in her range of motion.
Psych: She denies history of anxiety or depression. She also denies sleep disturbance, delusions or mental health history.
Neuro: She denies syncope episodes or dizziness, paresthesia, change in memory or thinking patterns. She also denies twitches or abnormal movements, gait disturbance, falls or seizure history.
Integument/Heme/Lymph: She reports stretch marks and a line in the middle of her abdomen. She denies rashes, itching, or bruising.
Endocrine: She denies polyuria/polyphagia/polydipsia. She also denies fatigue, heat or cold intolerances, or shedding of hair
Allergic/Immunologic: She is allergic to Penicillin and pollen. She has no food allergies.
OBJECTIVE DATA
Physical Exam:
Vital signs: B/P 124/78, left arm, sitting, regular cuff; P 82 and regular; T 99.9 Orally; RR 20; non-labored; Wt: 168 lbs; Ht: 6’5
General: A&O x3, NAD
HEENT: PERRLA, EOMI, oronasopharynx is clear
Neck: Carotids no bruit, jugular venous distention or thyromegally
Chest/Lungs: Lungs clear of wheezing or rhonchi
Heart/Peripheral Vascular: RRR without murmur, rub or gallop; pulses+2 bilat pedal and +2 radial
ABD: presence of bilateral strae gravidarum and central linea nigra. Normal bowel sounds with no organomegaly and suprapubic
Genital/Rectal: Non-contributory
Musculoskeletal: symmetric muscle development. Muscle strengths 5/5 all groups.
Neuro: Normal cranial nerve assessment with no gait imbalance or coordination problems. There is no loss of sensitivity to touch.
Skin/Lymph Nodes: No edema, clubbing, or cyanosis; no palpable nodes
Diagnostic results: Obstetrics ultrasound performed one day ago: Intrauterine live pregnancy at 28/40 weeks in breech presentation. FHR-132 bpm, BPP 8/8, cervix closed
ASSESSMENT:
Differential Diagnosis
- Linea nigra: Linea nigra is a hyperpigmentation characterized by a vertical line running down the middle of the abdomen. It is an indicator of pregnancy.
- Strae gravidarum: Strae gravidarum refers to atropic linear scars that pregnant mothers develop. The form as stretch marks on the abdomen and diminish over time.
- Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is a disorder that develops after skin injury or inflammation. It is severe in dark-skinned individuals. It improves spontaneously but can also require treatment for immediate changes (Lawrence & Al Aboud, 2023). It is the least likely condition since the patient in the case study is pregnant.
- Melanocytic naevi: Melanocytic nevi are benign hematomas or neoplasms that cause skin hyperpigmentation. It mainly affects the central nervous system and the skin. Melanocytic nevi are the least likely cause of the client’s problem since they do not occur in features such as midline vertical line that is seen in pregnancy (Yeh, 2023)
Primary diagnosis
- Normal pregnancy with features that include linea nigra and strae gravidarum: The client’s primary diagnosis is normal pregnancy with features that include linea nigra and strae gravidarum. Linea nigra is a normal occurrence in pregnant women. It refers to a form of hyperpigmentation that is witnessed in pregnancy. It is a dark vertical line running down the middle of the abdomen. It is an indicator of pregnancy. Linea nigra is associated with nipple, genital areas, and areola hyperpigmentation (Cappanera, 2022; Ferrando et al., 2019; Sharma et al., 2019). Strae gravidarum refers to atrophic linear scars that develop on the abdomen during pregnancy. They appear as stretch marks that may be of considerable concern to pregnant women (Dai et al., 2021). Strae gravidarum is non-pathological. The stretch marks fade over time and become hypopigmented (Karhade et al., 2021). The patient in the case study has these features, hence, a diagnosis of linea nigra and strae gravidarum. The patient is also pregnant, hence, the primary diagnosis with these conditions.
PLAN: This section is not required for the assignments in this course (NURS 6512), but will be required for future courses.
References
Cappanera, F. F., Gisella Sorrentino, Elena. (2022). Linea Nigra: Post/Human M/Others. In Engaging Donna Haraway. Routledge.
Dai, H., Liu, Y., Zhu, Y., Yu, Y., & Meng, L. (2021). Study on the methodology of striae gravidarum severity evaluation. BioMedical Engineering OnLine, 20(1), 109. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12938-021-00945-w
Ferrando, B. F., Sorrentino, G., & Cappanera, E. (2019). Linea Nigra: Post|Human M|Others. A/b: Auto/Biography Studies, 34(3), 501–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/08989575.2019.1664152
Karhade, K., Lawlor, M., Chubb, H., Johnson, T. R. B., Voorhees, J. J., & Wang, F. (2021). Negative perceptions and emotional impact of striae gravidarum among pregnant women. International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, 7(5, Part B), 685–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2021.10.015
Lawrence, E., & Al Aboud, K. M. (2023). Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559150/
Sharma, A., Jharaik, H., Sharma, R., Chauhan, S., & Wadhwa, D. (2019). Clinical study of pregnancy associated cutaneous changes. International Journal of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 3(4), 71–75. https://doi.org/10.33545/gynae.2019.v3.i4b.292
Yeh, I. (2023). Melanocytic naevi, melanocytomas and emerging concepts. Pathology, 55(2), 178–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pathol.2022.12.341
Rubric
NURS_6512_Week_4_Assignment_1_Rubric
| NURS_6512_Week_4_Assignment_1_Rubric | ||||||
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeUsing the SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) note format: · Create documentation, following SOAP format, of your assignment to choose one skin condition graphic (identify by number in your Chief Complaint). · Use clinical terminologies to explain the physical characteristics featured in the graphic. |
|
35 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome· Formulate a different diagnosis of three to five possible considerations for the skin graphic. · Determine which is most likely to be the correct diagnosis, and explain your reasoning using at least three different references from current evidence-based literature. |
|
50 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWritten Expression and Formatting – Paragraph Development and Organization: Paragraphs make clear points that support well-developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate continuity of ideas. Sentences are carefully focused–neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance. A clear and comprehensive purpose statement and introduction are provided that delineate all required criteria. |
|
5 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWritten Expression and Formatting – English writing standards: Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation |
|
5 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWritten Expression and Formatting – The paper follows correct APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, running heads, parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list. |
|
5 pts | ||||
| Total Points: 100 | ||||||