Answer 2 for NU 606 Week 9 Discussion 1: Question-Based Discussion—Team B (General Neurologic Dysfunction)

I enjoyed reading your discussion post regarding general neurologic dysfunction. As a future NP, a patient that I could see with CNS damage that may cause flaccid paralysis could be a patient with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare neurologic syndrome in which the myelin sheath of the nerves are damaged from the virus. Exact cause is unknown but approximately 66% of cases are preceded by a prior respiratory or GI tract infection in the 6 weeks prior to the onset of symptoms (MayoClinic.org, 2021). The patient typically presents with paresthesia’s (subjective) and weakness (objective) in the extremities. The patient could experience difficulty speaking (objective), chewing (objective) or swallowing (subjective) which places them at risk for aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition. As the disease progresses, the entire body can experience paralysis (Objective). The disease progresses in an ascending pattern and will spontaneously improve in the reverse order. Approximately 30% of patient will experience residual weakness following recovery (Hubert & VanMeter).