B.J., a 70-year-old Caucasian female has been seen in the clinic several times over the last 3 years.

Discussion Part One (graded)

B.J., a 70-year-old Caucasian female has been seen in the clinic several times over the last 3 years. However, she missed her last annual appointment-last appointment was 18 months ago and today you are the nurse practitioner seeing her. She arrived to the clinic alone and states she is “here for my check-up”.

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Background:

The patient reports that “my feet just burn and tingle all the time and it is so much worse at night that I can hardly sleep at all”. She also indicates that “I need some new pillows; I use 3 of them now to just get comfortable at night to sleep. Those pillows help me catch my breath so I can sleep better”.  She also reports dyspnea just walking to the bathroom, but it only happens when her legs are “swole up” and also states, “the coughing also keeps me up at night”.  To be honest, “I’m just tired in general whether my feet are “swole” or not”. She also indicates that she cannot see well, especially at night. She also reported that at her last visit to the clinic, she was told that she had a “heart beat problem” and that she is supposed to be taking aspirin every day. She said she thinks all of her “heart pains” went away after she started taking the aspirin and “putting that pill under the tongue”.  One of her concerns she has today is that since her husband died last year, she tells you, “I just don’t like doing things that I liked to do before my husband died. We used to like to do all sorts of stuff, but anymore….I just feel blue all the time”.

PMH:

Chronic back pain

Hypertension

Previous history of MI in 2010

Current medications:

Coreg 6.25 mg PO BID

Colace 100 mg PO BID

Glucotrol XL 10 mg PO daily

Lantus insulin 20 units at HS

K-dur 20 mEq PO QD

Furosemide 40 mg PO QD

L-Thyroxine 112 mcg PO QD

Surgeries:

2010-Left Anterior Descending (LAD) cardiac stent placement

Allergies: Amoxicillin

Vaccination History:

She receives an annual flu shot. Last flu shot was this year

Has never had a Pneumovax

Has not had a Td in over 20 years

Has not had the herpes zoster vaccine

Other:

Has not seen a dentist in over 15 years, the time she got her dentures

Last colorectal screening was 11 years ago

Last mammogram was 5 years ago

Has never had a DEXA/Bone Density Test

Last dilated eye exam was 4 years ago

Labs from last year’s visit: Hgb 12.2, Hct 37%, Hgb A1C 8.2%, K+ 4.2,

Na+140,Cholesterol 186, Triglycerides 188, HDL 37, LDL 98, TSH 3.7,

ALT/AST WNL.

Social history:

She graduated from high school, and thought about college, but got married right away and then had kids a short time later. Her two sons and their wives live with her, take her to church and to the local senior center; they do all the cleaning, run errands, and do grocery shopping.

Family history:

Both parents are deceased. Father died of a heart attack; mother died of natural causes.  She had one brother who died of a heart attack 20 years ago at the age of 52.

Habits:

Patient is a current tobacco user and has smoked 1 pack of cigarettes daily for the last 50 years and reports having no desire to quit. She uses occasional chew.  She drinks one 4 ounce glass of red wine daily.

Discussion Part One:

Provide differential diagnoses (DD) with rationale.

Further ROS questions needed to develop DD.

Based on the patient data provided, choose geriatric assessment tools that would be appropriate to use in conducting a thorough geriatric assessment. Provide a rationale on why you are choosing these particular tools.