Disorders of the Gastrointestinal System, 2nd Edition
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Medical treatment often consists of watchful waiting while the foreign body moves through the system. Parents and/ or patients monitor for signs of complica- tion and visualize stool to locate the ex- pelled item. Some foreign bodies do not pass on their own and require surgical in- tervention. The level of intervention and urgency of treatment are based on the item that was ingested or inserted, the likelihood of intestinal trauma or airway compromise, and the success of previous methods (Munter, 2018).
| NURSING ALERT
Airway management is the number one focus for treating patients with a foreign body lodged in their airways. An effective airway should be main- tained or established before other treatment options are considered. He- modynamic stability, controlling any identifiable blood loss, and treating for sepsis if perforation or peritonitis is present are also key in lowering the risk of death from foreign body inges- tion or insertion (Munter, 2018).
Figure 14. Coin in Patient’s Airway
Note . Heilman., J. (2011). Coin AP. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CoinAP.jpg. CC BY-SA 3.0. Intestinal obstruction
malignancy, abdominal adhesions and scarring from previous trauma or surgery, other GI conditions, and other benign causes. Untreated complete obstruction that causes strangulation and ischemia to the bowel, regardless of location, can be fatal due to shock and vascular collapse (Yeh & Bordeianou, 2021).
Intestinal obstruction is a complication of various GI disorders and diseases. In- testinal obstruction can be a partial or complete blockage of the lumen in either the small or large intestine. Most obstruc - tions occur in the small bowel, which can be difficult to treat because of the hard- to-reach location and can be caused by
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