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Essay / Clostridium Difficile Case Study - 1644
The SMART goal for diagnosing the patient's diarrhea is for the patient to defecate soft, formed stools every 1 to 3 days and express relief from cramping with little or no diarrhea. The intervention to achieve this intelligent goal is the administration of fidaxomicin, a narrow-spectrum antibiotic, to treat Clostridium difficile infection (Sears, 2013). Another nursing intervention for treating diarrhea involves assessing the patient's sodium and potassium loss, as well as explaining prevention methods to avoid the spread of excessive diarrhea (Mitchell, 2014). The nurse must also provide appropriate care for the integrity of the skin in the peritoneal area and make the environment safe and easy to access to the bathroom. The SMART goal for the patient's diagnosis of acute pain is for the patient to report relief of pain in the abdominal area after treatment with opioids over a 24-hour period. Nursing intervention for acute pain involves administering opioids and ensuring positioning to keep the patient as comfortable as possible and reduce pressure on the abdominal area. The nurse should also assess the patient's vital signs and pain level.