Long-term care for a patient with brain meningioma - a case study

Abstract

Introduction: Meningiomas are benign tumors of the central nervous system. They develop very slowly and most often originate from cells of the dura mater and arachnoid granules, causing distant metastases every thousand times. The incidence of brain meningioma is twice as high in women than in men. Women over 40 are at risk of developing the disease. Due to the benign nature of meningiomas, treatment involves surgical removal of the tumor tissue with foci and possibly bone. In most cases, surgery provides a complete cure. Caring for patients with a brain tumor requires knowledge and special care from medical staff. Patients need physical, social, mental and spiritual support.

The aim of the study was: To identify care problems in a patient with cerebral meningioma in the pre- and postoperative period. Establishing an individual care plan for a patient with brain meningioma. Planning nursing interventions for a patient with a brain meningioma. Assessment of actions taken for the patient and her environment. Preparing the patient for self-care and self-care at home.

Material and methods: The study included a 59-year-old patient with a brain meningioma. The patient was transferred from the Neurological Department of the Specialist Hospital in Ostrołęka to the Neurosurgical Clinic of the Military Medical Institute in Warsaw. The study used the individual case method, the research tool was a nursing process prepared based on a case study.

Results: Based on the collected data, an individual nursing care plan was developed, taking into account the pre- and postoperative period, in which individual actions were selected depending on the goals of care.

Conclusions: The most important care and therapeutic problems diagnosed in the examined patient were: severe headache located on the left side according to NRS 7 caused by increased intracranial pressure and swelling of the tissues around the tumor, the patient's anxiety caused by visual disturbances in the left eye, risk of injuries caused by difficulties in movement due to lower limb paresis and amblyopia, the patient's depressed mood and anxiety caused by the clinical diagnosis and fear of surgery. Based on the nursing diagnoses identified in a patient with a cerebral meningioma, the goals of nursing care and methods of their implementation were determined. Based on a case study, an individual nursing care plan was developed for a patient with a brain meningioma, covering the preoperative and postoperative periods, taking into account biopsycho-social aspects, including preparing the patient for self-care and self-care at home. The planned and undertaken nursing actions were assessed for their effectiveness. Detailed recommendations on self-care and self-care at home were developed, which allowed the patient's relatives to provide long-term care.