🩺 Nursing Question of the Day

Challenge yourself with one exam-style nursing question every day.

✅ Think carefully • ✅ Choose your answer • ✅ Then scroll down to check the explanation.

🩺 Question of the Day – 31

✅ Answer: (A) Mesenteric ischemia

📖 What is Mesenteric Ischemia?

Mesenteric ischemia occurs when blood flow to the intestines becomes inadequate, resulting in insufficient oxygen delivery to intestinal tissues.

Severe or prolonged ischemia can cause intestinal infarction, necrosis, perforation, sepsis, and shock.

🩺 Why is Option A Correct?

The most important clue is severe abdominal pain out of proportion to the physical examination.

Early in acute mesenteric ischemia, the bowel may be severely ischemic while the abdominal examination remains relatively unimpressive. As tissue injury progresses, tenderness and peritoneal signs can develop.

Intestinal ischemia can also produce bloody stools and metabolic acidosis, particularly as tissue hypoxia becomes severe.

🔬 Why Does Metabolic Acidosis Occur?

When intestinal tissue receives inadequate oxygen, cells shift toward anaerobic metabolism, resulting in increased production of lactate.

❌ Why Are the Other Options Wrong?

A. Mesenteric ischemia
✅ Correct. Severe abdominal pain out of proportion to examination, bloody diarrhea, and metabolic/lactic acidosis strongly suggest intestinal ischemia.

B. Viral gastroenteritis
❌ Usually causes vomiting, watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. It does not typically produce severe pain out of proportion to examination with intestinal ischemia.

C. Irritable bowel syndrome
❌ IBS is a functional bowel disorder. Bloody diarrhea and metabolic acidosis are not typical features.

D. Gastritis
❌ Gastritis involves inflammation of the gastric mucosa and does not explain intestinal ischemia with severe pain and bloody diarrhea.

📝 Quick Comparison

📌 Exam Tip: The phrase “abdominal pain out of proportion to physical findings” is a classic examination clue for acute mesenteric ischemia. Bloody stool and metabolic/lactic acidosis strengthen the diagnosis.