Exhibits

For each potential assessment finding, click to specify if the finding is consistent with Crohn’s disease, appendicitis or intussusception. Each finding may support more than 1 disease process.

Rationale:

• Temperature: The child’s temperature is 37.4°C (99.3°F), which is mildly elevated. Crohn’s disease typically causes intermittent fever during flare-ups. Appendicitis often presents with a higher fever in later stages. Intussusception can cause low-grade fever due to bowel inflammation, making it the most consistent with this finding.
• Vomiting: Vomiting is uncommon in Crohn’s disease unless there’s obstruction or severe disease. In appendicitis, vomiting usually follows the onset of pain and is related to peritoneal irritation. Intussusception often involves vomiting early due to intermittent bowel obstruction, making it consistent with this client’s symptoms.
• Abdominal findings: Crohn’s disease rarely produces a palpable abdominal mass or sudden distension. Appendicitis can cause right-sided tenderness and decreased bowel sounds but does not typically involve a mass. Intussusception often presents with a distended abdomen, hypoactive bowel sounds, and a sausage-shaped mass in the right upper quadrant, as described.
• Stool: Crohn’s disease can lead to bloody, mucus-filled stools due to ulceration in the intestinal lining. Appendicitis does not typically alter stool characteristics unless perforation occurs. Intussusception is well known for producing “currant jelly” stools, composed of blood and mucus, aligning with this child’s bowel movement description.
• Pain rating: A FLACC score of 5 indicates moderate pain. Crohn’s pain tends to be chronic and crampy rather than episodic. Appendicitis pain worsens over time and becomes localized, typically in the right lower quadrant. Intussusception causes intermittent, severe abdominal pain with sudden relief, matching the child’s pain episodes and behavior.

Rationale:

• Relationship status: BPD is marked by instability in relationships, often due to intense fear of abandonment or difficulty managing emotional attachments. Sudden breakups or conflict with close partners are common, especially during emotional crises.
• Concerns about coworkers: Individuals with PPD often misinterpret benign actions of others as malicious or threatening. Persistent beliefs that others are conspiring against them—despite little or no evidence—are core features of the disorder.
• Client statement: Impulsivity is a diagnostic criterion for BPD. Risky behaviors like sudden, financially irresponsible purchases are driven by difficulty regulating emotion and can reflect an effort to escape negative feelings.
• Skin alterations: Recurrent self-harm (e.g., superficial cutting) is a hallmark of BPD, typically used to cope with overwhelming emotional distress, feelings of emptiness, or perceived rejection or abandonment.
• Behavior pattern: Blunted affect and lack of improvement may reflect emotional withdrawal seen in both BPD and PPD. In BPD, emotional dysregulation underlies these symptoms; in PPD, chronic mistrust can lead to guarded, affectively flat behavior and resistance to help.