Ch37 MED SURG

A client comes to the orthopedic clinic and reports having pain that radiates down the forearm and being unable to grasp objects firmly. What does the nurse suspect is occurring with the client?

Epicondylitis

A fracture is considered pathologic when it

occurs through an area of diseased bone.

A client is treated in the emergency department for acute muscle strain in the left leg caused by trying a new exercise. During discharge preparation, the nurse should provide which instruction?

"Apply ice packs for the first 24 to 48 hours, then apply heat packs."

The nurse is providing instructions to the client who is being prepared for skeletal traction. Which statement by the client indicates teaching was effective?

"Metal pins will go through my skin to the bone."

A client sustains a fractured right humerus in an automobile accident. The arm is edematous, the client states not being able to move or feel the fingers, and the nurse does not feel a pulse. What condition should the nurse be concerned about that requires emergency measures?

Compartment syndrome

client has a cast applied to the leg for treatment of a tibia fracture and also has a wound on the leg that requires dressing changes due to drainage. For what should the nurse prepare the client?

Cutting a cast window

The nurse caring for a client, who has been treated for a hip fracture, instructs the client not to cross their legs and to have someone assist with tying their shoes. Which additional instruction should the nurse provide to client?

Do not flex the hip more than 90 degrees.

A patient in pelvic traction needs circulatory status assessed. How should the nurse assess for a positive Homans' sign?

Have the patient extend each leg and dorsiflex each foot to determine if pain or tenderness is present in the lower leg.

A client with a fractured femur is in balanced suspension traction. The client needs to be repositioned toward the head of the bed. During repositioning, what should the nurse do?

Maintain consistent traction tension while repositioning.

Which of the following musculoskeletal injuries is manifested by acromioclavicular joint pain?

Rotator cuff tears

The nurse is caring for a client with an external fixator that requires pin care twice a day. The nurse observes that there is a new purulent drainage around one of the pins. What intervention should the nurse anticipate doing?

Obtaining a culture

What symptoms of a fractured clavicle does the nurse recognize?

Right shoulder slopes downward and droops inward.

A client comes to the emergency department and it is found that the client's radial head is partially dislocated. What is this partially dislocated radial head documented as?

Subluxation

A patient falls while skiing and sustains a supracondylar fracture. What does the nurse know is the most serious complication of a supracondylar fracture of the humerus?

Volkmann's ischemic contracture

A client who has injured a hip in a fall cannot place weight on the leg and is in significant pain. After radiographs indicate intact yet malpositioned bones, what repair would the physician perform?

joint manipulation and immobilization

A nurse is reviewing a client's activities of daily living prior to discharge from total hip replacement. The nurse should identify what activity as posing a potential risk for hip dislocation?

Bending down to put on socks

The students demonstrate understanding of the topic when they cite which of the following as an advantage of a plaster cast?

Better molding to the client

While riding a bicycle on a narrow road, the patient was hit from behind and thrown into a ditch, sustaining a pelvic fracture. What complications does the nurse know to monitor for that are common to pelvic fractures?

Hemorrhage and shock

Which intervention should the nurse implement with the client who has undergone a hip replacement?

Instruct the client to avoid internal rotation of the leg

The nurse is caring for a client with a spica cast. What is the nurse's priority intervention?

Keep the cast clean and dry.

The nurse is preparing a client to have his cast cut off after having it for 6 weeks to treat a fractured tibia. What should the nurse inform the client prior to the cast being removed?

The skin may be covered with a yellowish crust that will shed in a few days.

Which is described as a condition that occurs from interruption of the blood supply to the fracture fragments after which the bone tissue dies, most commonly in the femoral head?

avascular necrosis