NURS 6512N: Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning

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Week 3: Assessment Tools, Diagnostics, Growth, Measurement, and Nutrition in Adults and Children Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children Acquiring a clinical history and interv... iewing a patient provides important information for determining a diagnosis. A diagnosis can be achieved through diagnostic tests or using assessment tools while taking into account the health history of the patient. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a tumor marker used to detect and screen for prostate cancer (Dains et al., 2016). PSA is mostly found in semen but in small amounts it is found circulating in the blood. PSA is a protein produced by both cancerous and noncancerous tissue in the prostate (Mayo Clinic, 2018). The PSA-test measures the amount of PSA in the blood. Levels of 1 to 4 ng/mL are considered within reference range, whereas 4 to 10 ng/mL are elevated levels that fall into a gray zone. PSA levels of 10 ng/mLor above are abnormal and are suggestive of malignant activity of the prostate (Dain et al., 2018). Validity and Reliability The validity of the PSA-test has been proven effectiv [Show More]

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