Parkinson’s disease, or paralysis agitans,is a progressing neurologic movement disorder that eventually leads to disability. It occurs after the age of 50 and increases in incidence with age. The disease affects more men than women and it’s the fourth most common neurodegenerative disease, with 50,000 new cases reported each year in the United States.
Parkinson’s disease is associated with decreased levels of dopamine resulting from destruction of pigmented neuronal cells in the substantia nigra in the basal ganglia region of the brain. Neuronal pathways project from the substantia nigra to the corpus striatum, where neurotransmitters are key to the control of complex body movements. The loss of dopamine stores in areas of the brain results in more excitatory neurotransmitters than inhibitory neurotransmitters, leading to an imbalance that affects voluntary movement.
Nursing Care Plans
The nursing goals for patients with Parkinson’s Disease include improving functional mobility, maintaining independence in performing ADLs, achieving optimal bowel elimination, attaining and maintaining acceptable nutritional status, achieving effective communication, and developing positive coping mechanisms.
Here are nine (9) nursing care plans (NCP) and nursing diagnosis for Parkinson’s Disease:
- Ineffective Airway Clearance
- Disturbed Thought Process
- Impaired Verbal Communication
- Impaired Physical Mobility
- Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements
- Impaired Swallowing
- Risk for Injury
- Ineffective Coping
- Deficient Knowledge
- Other Nursing Care Plans
Ineffective Airway Clearance
Nursing Diagnosis
May be related to
- parkinsonian changes in musculature
- tracheobronchial obstruction
- aspiration
- infection
- truncal rigidity
- bronchospasm
- fatigue
- increased work of breathing
- increased mucus production
- thick secretions
Possibly evidenced by
- dyspnea
- tachypnea
- bradypnea
- bronchospasms
- increased breathing effort
- use of accessory muscles
- increased mucus production
- cough with or without productivity
- adventitious breath sounds
- abnormal arterial blood gases
Desired Outcomes
- Patient will achieve the normalization and ability to maintain patent airways and respiratory status.
- Patient will achieve and maintain a patent airway.
- Patient will have clear breath sounds to auscultation and will have respiratory status parameters with optimal air exchange.
- Patient will be able to cough up secretions and perform coughing and deep breathing exercises.
| Nursing Interventions | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Observe patient and assess energy level and endurance, and how these affect respiratory status. | Energy ability decreases with age and chronic disease like PD. |
| Assess respiratory status for rate, depth, ease, use of accessory muscles, and work of breathing. | For baseline data. |
| Auscultate the lung fields for the presence of wheezes, crackles, rhonchi, or decreased breath sounds. | Wheezing results from squeezing of air past the narrowed airways during expiration which is caused by bronchospasms, edema, and obstructive secretions. Crackles result from consolidation of leukocytes and fibrin in the lung causing an infection or by fluid accumulation in the lungs. Decreased breath sounds may indicate alveolar collapse with little to no air exchange in the lung area being auscultated and usually results in poor ventilation. |
| Administer oxygen as ordered. Monitor oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry. | Provide supplemental oxygen to benefit patient. |
| Assess patient for pallor or cyanosis in nail beds and/or around the mouth. | May indicate hypoxemia. |
| Monitor patient for cough and production of sputum, noting amount, color, character, and patient’s ability to expectorate secretions and patient’s ability to cough. | Mucus color from yellow to green may indicate the presence of infection. Tenacious, thick secretions require more effort and energy to cough up and remove and may cause obstruction and stasis that may lead to infection. |
| Position patient in high Fowler’s or semi-Fowler’s position, if possible. | Promotes maximal lung expansion. |
| Turn the patient every 2 hours. | Repositioning promotes drainage of pulmonary secretions and enhances ventilation to decrease the potential for atelectasis. |
| Administer bronchodilators as ordered. | Promotes relaxation of bronchial smooth muscles to decrease spasm, dilates airways to improve ventilation, and maximizes air exchange. |
| Encourage an increase in intake of fluids up to 3-4 L/day. | Provides hydration and helps to thin secretions for easier mobilization and removal. |
| Perform postural drainage and percussion as ordered. | Postural drainage utilizes gravity to help raise secretions and clear sputum. Percussion may assist in the movement of secretions away from bronchial walls and enable patient to cough them up and increase the force of expiration. Some positions done may be contraindicated in elderly patients. |
| Encourage deep breathing and coughing exercises every 2 hours. | Assist in lung expansion and helps in dislodgement of secretions for easier expectoration. |
| Suction patient if warranted. | The patient may be too weak or fatigued to expel own secretions. |
| Instruct patient to seek help and stop smoking of patient is a smoker. | Smoking causes increased mucus, vasoconstriction, and increased blood pressure. |
Recommended Resources
Recommended nursing diagnosis and nursing care plan books and resources.
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- Nursing Care Plans: Nursing Diagnosis and Intervention (10th Edition)
An awesome book to help you create and customize effective nursing care plans. We highly recommend this book for its completeness and ease of use. - Nurse’s Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions and Rationales
A quick-reference tool to easily select the appropriate nursing diagnosis to plan your patient’s care effectively. - NANDA International Nursing Diagnoses: Definitions & Classification, 2021-2023 (12th Edition)
The official and definitive guide to nursing diagnoses as reviewed and approved by the NANDA-I. This book focuses on the nursing diagnostic labels, their defining characteristics, and risk factors – this does not include nursing interventions and rationales. - Nursing Diagnosis Handbook, 12th Edition Revised Reprint with 2021-2023 NANDA-I® Updates
Another great nursing care plan resource that is updated to include the recent NANDA-I updates. - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5(TM))
Useful for creating nursing care plans related to mental health and psychiatric nursing. - Ulrich & Canale’s Nursing Care Planning Guides, 8th Edition
Claims to have the most in-depth care plans of any nursing care planning book. Includes 31 detailed nursing diagnosis care plans and 63 disease/disorder care plans. - Maternal Newborn Nursing Care Plans (3rd Edition)
If you’re looking for specific care plans related to maternal and newborn nursing care, this book is for you. - Nursing Diagnosis Manual: Planning, Individualizing, and Documenting Client Care (7th Edition)
An easy-to-use nursing care plan book that is updated with the latest diagnosis from NANDA-I 2021-2023. - All-in-One Nursing Care Planning Resource: Medical-Surgical, Pediatric, Maternity, and Psychiatric-Mental Health (5th Edition)
Definitely an all-in-one resources for nursing care planning. It has over 100 care plans for different nursing topics.
See also
Other recommended site resources for this nursing care plan:
- Nursing Care Plans (NCP): Ultimate Guide and Database MUST READ!
Over 150+ nursing care plans for different diseases and conditions. Includes our easy-to-follow guide on how to create nursing care plans from scratch. - Nursing Diagnosis Guide and List: All You Need to Know to Master Diagnosing
Our comprehensive guide on how to create and write diagnostic labels. Includes detailed nursing care plan guides for common nursing diagnostic labels.
Other nursing care plans related to neurological disorders:
- Alzheimer’s Disease | 15Â Care Plans
- Brain Tumor | 3 Care Plans
- Cerebral Palsy | 7 Care Plans
- Cerebrovascular Accident | 12 Care Plans
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome | 6 Care Plans
- Meningitis | 7 Care Plans
- Multiple Sclerosis | 9 Care Plans
- Parkinson’s Disease | 9 Care Plans
- Seizure Disorder | 4 Care Plans
- Spinal Cord Injury | 12 Care Plans
Awesome stuff.
Feel like I have found a gold mine !! Very helpful.
Very nice and helpful
This website has helped me so much with nursing interventions and now is helping me come up with interventions and understanding why because of the rationale
Would be Important to add references. Apart from that is very good.