DISCUSS THE NURSING ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF A PATIENT WITH Essay

DISCUSS THE NURSING ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF A PATIENT WITH HYPOGLYCAEMIA EMERGENCY - Essay Example nerves, and blood vessels. Pancreas: The pancreas is a gland that lies behind the stomach; it is a compound gland with both exocrine and endocrine components. The endocrine component is secreted in the islets of Langerhans, and this comprises of two hormones, glucagon and insulin. Within the islets, there are beta cells that secrete insulin (A Dictionary of Nursing, 2003).Pathophysiology of Diabetes: Diabetes results from deficient insulin secretion, decreased insulin action, or both. Many causative pathologic processes may be involved ranging from autoimmune destruction of beta cells of the pancreas to incompletely understood processes that result in insulin resistance. In both the mechanisms, there is strong evidence of a genetic counterpart. Whatever may be the mechanism of injury, deficiency of insulin leads to production of large volume of urine and excessive thirst. The excess sugar in the blood draws water, and the excess sugar starts appearing in urine, thereby leading to a loss of sugar in the urine. This results in weight loss, and the patient not only becomes thirsty, but also hungry. (A Dictionary of Nursing, 2003). Types of Diabetes Mellitus: Depending on the pathologic mechanism causing diabetes, diabetes has been classified into two types. One, where there is absolute deficiency of insulin due to destruction of islet cells, so the patients are entirely dependent on insulin for counteracting this deficiency state. This usually starts in childhood or adolescence, and this is termed as IDDM or insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus or type 1 diabetes mellitus. The other, where there is insulin resistance and... "hypoglycaemia n."Concise Medical Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2002. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.British Council Delhi.2 May 2007http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.htmlsubview=Main&entry=t60.e4784 "insulin n."Concise Medical Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2002. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.British Council Delhi.2 May 2007http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.htmlsubview=Main&entry=t60.e5064 "pancreas n."A Dictionary of Nursing. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.British Council Delhi.2 May 2007http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.htmlsubview=Main&entry=t62.e6551