The 24-year-old female patient presents to the emergency department with hematemesis. She rarely drinks alcohol and has no known medical conditions. She is afebrile and her laboratory tests are normal, though she has signs of dehydration. The physician diagnoses the patient with Mallory-Weiss Syndrome. The nurse assesses the patient for which conditions?

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Pregnancy, Bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa is a condition involving binging large amounts of food then subsequently purging, usually by vomiting. Repeated vomiting can cause trauma to the esophagus in the form of Mallory-Weiss Syndrome. Therefore, the patient with Mallory-Weiss Syndrome must be assessed for bulimia nervosa. Pregnancy can cause a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum, which causes severe nausea and daily vomiting. Gallbladder disease could be the cause of the patient&rsquo;s vomiting, but she denied other symptoms, so this is less likely to be the cause to large amount of vomiting needed to cause Mallory-Weiss Syndrome. Pancreatitis is unlikely since the patient denies other symptoms, recent illness, and alcohol use.

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