Chapter 16: Postoperative Nursing Management

The surgical nurse is caring for a client whose wound is classified as clean contaminated. Which type of wound is the nurse likely to assess?

A wound with a drainage system

The nurse is performing the shift assessment of a postsurgical client. The nurse finds the client's mental status, level of consciousness, speech, and orientation are intact and at baseline, but the client appears unusually restless. What should the nurse do next?

Assess the client's oxygen levels.

A client has just been admitted to the postanesthesia care unit following abdominal surgery. As the client begins to awaken, the client is uncharacteristically restless. The nurse checks the skin, and it is cold, moist, and pale. The nurse is concerned the client may be at risk for which condition?

Hemorrhage and shock

When assessing a postsurgical client's risk for deep vein thrombosis, the nurse should prioritize what assessment parameter?

Hydration status

The PACU nurse is caring for an adult client who had a left lobectomy. The nurse is assessing the client frequently for airway patency and cardiovascular status. The nurse should know that the most common cardiovascular complications seen in the PACU include what? Select all that apply. A. Hypotension B. Hypervolemia C. Heart murmurs D. Dysrhythmias E. Hypertension

Hypotension, Dysrhythmias, Hypertension

A client is being asked to choose between an ambulatory surgical center and a hospital-based surgical unit. What guidance should the nurse provide?

"Clients admitted to the hospital for surgery usually have multiple health needs."

The nurse admits a client to the postanesthesia care unit with a blood pressure of 132/90 mm Hg and a pulse of 68 beats per minute. After 30 minutes, the client's blood pressure is 94/47 mm Hg, and the pulse is 110. The nurse documents that the client's skin is cold, moist, and pale. This client is showing signs of what potential issue?

Hypovolemic shock

The postanesthesia care unit nurse is caring for a client who had a hernia repair. The client's blood pressure is now 164/92 mm Hg; the client has no history of hypertension prior to surgery and preoperative blood pressure was 112/68 mm Hg. The nurse should assess for which potential causes of hypertension following surgery?

Pain, hypoxia, and bladder distention

The nurse is caring for an 88-year-old client who is recovering from an iliac-femoral bypass graft. The client is day 2 postoperative and has been mentally intact, as per baseline. When the nurse assesses the client, it is clear that the client is confused and has been experiencing disturbed sleep patterns and impaired psychomotor skills. Which complication should the nurse suspect?

Postoperative delirium

The nurse is preparing to change a client's abdominal dressing. The nurse recognizes that the first step is to provide the client with information regarding the procedure. Which explanation should the nurse provide to the client?

"I will provide privacy. The dressing change should not be painful; you may look at the incision and help."

A presurgical client asks, "Why will I go to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) instead of just going straight up to the postsurgical unit?" Which response by the nurse would be best?

"It allows us to observe you until you're oriented and have stable vital signs and no complications."

A surgical client has just been admitted to an inpatient nursing unit from the postanesthesia care unit with client-controlled analgesia (PCA). What must the client require for safe and effective use of PCA?

A clear understanding of the need to self-dose

The nurse is creating the plan of care for a postoperative client for reduction of a femur fracture. Which goal is the most important short-term goal for this client?

Adequate respiratory function

The recovery room nurse is admitting a client from the OR following the client's successful splenectomy. What is the first assessment that the nurse should perform on this newly admitted client?

Airway patency

The perioperative nurse is providing care for a client who is recovering on the postsurgical unit following a transurethral prostate resection (TUPR). The client is reluctant to ambulate, citing the need to recover in bed. For what complication is the client most at risk?

Atelectasis

A postoperative client rapidly presents with hypotension; rapid, thready pulse; oliguria; and cold, pale skin. The nurse suspects that the client is experiencing a hemorrhage. What should be the nurse's first action?

Attempt to determine the cause of hemorrhage.

The nurse is caring for a client in the postanesthesia care unit after abdominal surgery. The client's blood pressure has increased, and the client is restless. The client's oxygen saturation is 97%. Which factor should the nurse first suspect as the cause for this change in status?

Pain

The nurse just received a postoperative client from the postanesthesia care unit to the medical-surgical unit. The client had surgery for a left hip replacement. Which concern should the nurse prioritize for this client in the first few hours on the unit?

Closely monitoring neurologic status

The perioperative nurse is preparing to discharge a client home from day surgery performed under general anesthesia. Which instruction should the nurse give the client prior to the client leaving the hospital?

Do not drive yourself home.

The surgeon's preoperative assessment of a client finds that the client is at a high risk for venous thromboembolism. Once the client is admitted to the postsurgical unit, what intervention should the nurse prioritize to reduce the client's risk of this complication?

Encourage early ambulation.

The nurse's aide notifies the nurse that a client has decreased oxygen saturation levels. The nurse assesses the client and finds that the client is tachypneic, has crackles on auscultation, and has frothy and pink sputum. The nurse should suspect which complication?

Flash pulmonary edema

The nurse is caring for a postoperative client with a history of congestive heart failure and peptic ulcer disease. The client is highly reluctant to ambulate and will not drink fluids except for hot tea with meals. The client's vital signs are slightly elevated, and the client has a nonproductive cough. The nurse auscultates crackles at the base of the lungs. Which complication should the nurse first suspect?

Hypostatic pulmonary congestion

The intraoperative nurse is transferring a client from the OR to the PACU after replacement of the right knee. The client is an older adult. The nurse should prioritize which of the following actions?

Keeping the client warm

The nurse is caring for a client who has just been transferred to the PACU from the OR. What is the highest nursing priority?

Maintaining a patent airway

A client is 2 hours' postoperative with an indwelling urinary catheter. The last hourly urine output recorded for this client was 10 mL. The tubing of the catheter is confirmed to be patent. What should the nurse do?

Notify the health care provider and continue to monitor the hourly urine output.

The nurse is caring for a client who is postoperative day 2 following a colon resection. While turning the client, wound dehiscence with evisceration occurs. What should be the nurse's first response?

Place saline-soaked sterile dressings on the wound.

The nurse is caring for an older adult client in the postanesthesia care unit. The client begins to awaken and responds to their name, but is confused, restless, and agitated. Which principle should guide the nurse's subsequent assessment?

Postoperative confusion is common in the older adult client, but it could also indicate a significant blood loss.

The nurse is caring for a client on the medical-surgical unit postoperative day 5. During each client assessment, the nurse evaluates the client for infection. Which of the following would be most indicative of infection?

Red, warm, tender incision

The nurse is discharging a client home from an outpatient surgery center. The nurse has reviewed all of the discharge instructions with the client and the caregiver. What else should the nurse do before discharging the client from the facility? Select all that apply. A. Provide all discharge instructions in writing. B. Provide the surgeon's contact information. C. Give prescriptions to the client. D. Irrigate the client's incision and perform a sterile dressing change. E. Administer a bolus dose of an opioid analgesic.

Provide all discharge instructions in writing., Provide the surgeon's contact information, Give prescriptions to the client.

The nurse is caring for a client who has returned to the postsurgical unit following abdominal surgery. The client is unable to ambulate and is now refusing to wear external pneumatic compression stockings. The nurse should explain that refusing to wear external pneumatic compression stockings increases the risk of which postsurgical complication?

Pulmonary embolism

A surgical client has been in the PACU for the past 3 hours. What are the determining factors for the client to be discharged from the PACU? Select all that apply. A. Absence of pain B. Stable blood pressure C. Ability to tolerate oral fluids D. Sufficient oxygen saturation E. Adequate respiratory function

Stable blood pressure, Sufficient oxygen saturation, Adequate respiratory function

The nurse is caring for a 78-year-old client who has had an outpatient cholecystectomy. The nurse is getting the client up for the first walk postoperatively. To decrease the potential for orthostatic hypotension and consequent falls, what should the nurse have the client do?

Stand upright for 2 to 3 minutes prior to ambulating.

The nurse is caring for a postoperative client who needs daily dressing changes. The client is 3 days' postoperative and is scheduled for discharge the next day. Until now, the client has refused to learn how to change the dressing. What would indicate to the nurse the client's possible readiness to learn how to change the dressing? Select all that apply. A. The client wants the nurse to teach a family member to do dressing changes. B. The client expresses interest in the dressing change. C. The client is willing to look at the incision during a dressing change. D. The client expresses dislike of the surgical wound. E. The client assists in opening the packages of dressing material for the nurse.

The client expresses interest in the dressing change., The client is willing to look at the incision during a dressing change, The client assists in opening the packages of dressing material for the nurse.

A client underwent an open bowel resection 2 days ago, and the nurse's most recent assessment of the client's abdominal incision reveals that it is dehiscing. Which factor should the nurse suspect may have caused the dehiscence?

The client has vomited three times in the past 12 hours.

The nurse is admitting a client to the medical-surgical unit from the PACU. In order to help the client clear secretions and help prevent pneumonia, the nurse should encourage the client to:

use the incentive spirometer every 2 hours.

The postanesthesia care unit nurse is caring for a client who has arrived from the operating room. During the initial assessment, the nurse observes that the client's skin has become blue and dusky. The nurse looks, listens, and feels for breathing, and determines the client is not breathing. Which intervention is the priority?

Tilt the head back and push forward on the angle of the lower jaw.

The dressing surrounding a client's Jackson-Pratt drain has scant drainage on it. The nurse believes that the amount of drainage on the dressing may be increasing. How can the nurse best confirm this suspicion?

Trace the outline of the drainage on the dressing for future comparison.

A client is in the recovery room following a nephrectomy performed for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. The client's vital signs and level of consciousness have stabilized, but the client then reports severe nausea and begins to vomit. What should the nurse do next?

Turn the client to one side.