Is it necessary to send patients with abdominal pain to an acute-care facility or emergency room?
It is not always necessary to send patients with abdominal pain to an acute-care facility or emergency room. However, it is always important to address abdominal pain in the elderly and not to ignore patients’ complaints of pain or discomfort. As these symptoms may develop when a practitioner is not available, the assessment and communication of this assessment made by the facility nurse is critical in managing the patient with abdominal pain. • What patients should be tested for H. pylori? Patients with active peptic ulcer disease or a history of documented peptic ulcer or gastric mucosa-associated lymphoma should be tested for H. pylori. Those who test positive should be treated to prevent recurrence of peptic ulcer or gastric mucosa-associated lymphoma. • What is the most important component of monitoring patients with GI disorders? The most important component of monitoring is reassessment of the patient at regular intervals to determine whether interventions to treat the GI disord
