Chapter 32 PREP U: LPN-RN

A client who had a knee replacement asks the nurse, "Why do I need this little bulb coming out of my knee?" What is the appropriate nursing response?

"It allows removal of blood and drainage from the surgical wound."

The nurse is teaching a client who is preparing for a left mastectomy due to breast cancer. Which teaching about a Jackson-Pratt drain will the nurse include?

"It provides a way to remove drainage and blood from the surgical wound."

The nurse and client are looking at the client's heel pressure injury. The client asks, "Why does my heel look black?" What is the nurse's appropriate response?

"That is necrotic tissue, which must be removed to promote healing."

The registered nurse (RN) observes the licensed practical nurse (LPN) preforming this action when applying a topical gel to a client's surgical wound during a dressing change. What instructions should the RN provide the LPN regarding this action?

"To best avoid further traumatizing the wound bed, apply the gel with a sterile cotton tip applicator."

A nurse has applied a bandage to a client's arm from just above the wrist to just below the elbow. What finding(s) would suggest to the nurse that there are no circulatory complications? Select all that apply.

*Fingers with quick capillary refill *Warm hand *No finger numbness or tingling

The client is scheduled to receive dressing changes and warm soaks twice a day for an abscess to the lower extremity. The incoming nurse receives in the handoff report that the client has not been tolerating the dressing changes or warm soaks well due to acute pain. What action should the nurse take to promote client comfort and increase the effectiveness of the treatments?

Administer analgesics 30 minutes prior to the treatment to act on pain receptors.

A pediatric nurse is familiar with specific characteristics of skin across the life span. Which statement accurately describes skin characteristics?

An infant's skin and mucous membranes are easily injured and at risk for infection.

The nurse has removed the sutures and is now planning to apply wound closure strips. What should the nurse do before applying the strips?

Apply a skin protectant to the skin around the incision.

The nurse observes the presence of intestinal contents protruding from the client's surgical wound after colon resection. What action will the nurse take?

Apply saline solution-moistened gauze over the protruding area.

The nurse is caring for a client with a sacral wound. Upon assessment, the wound is noted to be intact, reddened, and nonblanchable. What is the best way to document the nurse's assessment finding?

As a stage I pressure injury

A client reports acute pain while negative pressure wound therapy is in place. What should the nurse do first?

Assess the client's wound and vital signs.

A nurse is cleaning the wound of a client who has been injured by a gunshot. Which guideline is recommended for this procedure?

Clean the wound from the top to the bottom and from the center to outside.

Which is not considered a skin appendage?

Connective tissue

A teacher brings a student to the school nurse and explains that the student fell onto both knees while running in the hallway. The knees have since turned shades of blue and purple. Which type of injury does the nurse anticipate assessing?

Contusion

A postoperative client is being transferred from the bed to a gurney and states, "I feel like something has just given away." What should the nurse assess in the client?

Dehiscence of the wound

The wound care nurse evaluates a client's wound after being consulted. The client's wound healing has been slow. Upon assessment of the wound, the wound care nurse informs the medical-surgical nurse that the wound healing is being delayed due to the client's state of dehydration and dehydrated tissues in the wound that are crusty. What is another term for localized dehydration in a wound?

Desiccation

The nurse is performing frequent skin assessment at the site where cold therapy has been in place. The nurse notes pallor at the site and the client reports "it feels numb." What is the bestaction by the nurse at this time?

Discontinue the therapy and assess the client.

The nurse is helping a confused client with a large leg wound order dinner. Which food item is most appropriate for the nurse to select to promote wound healing?

Fish To promote wound healing, the nurse should ensure that the client's diet is high in protein, vitamin A, and vitamin C. The fish is high in protein and is therefore the most appropriate choice to promote wound healing.

The nurse is caring for a client who has a wound to the right forearm following a motor vehicle accident. The primary care provider has ordered culture of the wound. Which action should the nurse perform in obtaining a wound culture?

Keep the swab and the inside of the culture tube sterile prior to collecting the culture.

A nurse removing sutures from a client's traumatic wound notices that the sutures are encrusted with blood and difficult to remove. What would be the nurse's most appropriate action?

Moisten sterile gauze with sterile saline to gently loosen crusts before removing sutures.

A nurse is caring for a client with quadriplegia. Which intervention by the nurse will prevent a heel or ankle pressure injury for the client?

Placing the client in a side-lying position with a pillow between the mattress and the lower leg, and a pillow between the lower legs

A nurse is assessing a client's surgical wound and sees drainage that is pale pink-yellow and thin and contains plasma and red cells. What is this type of drainage?

Serosanguineous

A nurse is documenting on a client who has had an appendectomy. During a dressing change of the surgical site, the nurse observed a pale pink drainage on the dressing. Which drainage type should the nurse document?

Serosanguineous

A client's pressure injury is superficial and presents clinically as an abrasion, blister, or shallow crater. How would the nurse document this pressure injury?

Stage II

A nurse has applied a transparent dressing to the coccyx of a client who has been immobilized due to a stroke. What purpose is served by this wound product?

The dressing allows oxygen exchange between the wound and environment.

The nurse is applying a heating pad to a client experiencing neck pain. Which nursing action is performed correctly?

The nurse keeps the pad in place for 20 to 30 minutes, assessing it regularly.

The nurse is caring for a client who has a pressure injury on the back. What nursing intervention would the nurse perform?

The nurse uses positioning devices and techniques to maintain posture and distribute weight evenly for the client in a chair.

The nurse is helping a confused client with a large leg wound order dinner. Which food item is most appropriate for the nurse to select to promote wound healing?

To promote wound healing, the nurse should ensure that the client's diet is high in protein, vitamin A, and vitamin C. The fish is high in protein and is therefore the most appropriate choice to promote wound healing.

A nurse is caring for a client with a nonhealing stage IV pressure injury. The nurse observes an area in the wound that is hollow between the outer surface and the wound bed. What is the correct term for this condition?

Undermining

The nurse considers the impact of shearing forces in the development of pressure injuries in clients. Which client would be most likely to develop a pressure injury from shearing forces?

a client sitting in a chair who slides down

The nurse is preparing to measure the depth of a client's tunneled wound. Which implement should the nurse use to measure the depth accurately?

a sterile, flexible applicator moistened with saline

A postoperative client says during a transfer, "I feel like something just popped." The nurse immediately assesses for:

dehiscence.

A full-thickness or third-degree burn develops a leathery covering called a(an):

eschar.

The nurse is assessing a client's surgical wound after abdominal surgery and sees viscera protruding through the abdominal wound opening. Which term best describes this complication?

evisceration

A nurse is caring for a postsurgical client with a Jackson-Pratt drain. Which type of wound drainage should the nurse report to the health care provider as an indication of infection?

foul-smelling drainage that is grayish in color

When assessing a wound that a client sustained as a result of surgery, the nurse notes well-approximated edges and no signs of infection. How will the nurse document this assessment finding?

incision

A nurse is treating a client who has a wound with full-thickness tissue loss and edges that do not readily approximate. The nurse knows that the open wound will gradually fill with granulation tissue. Which type of wound healing is this?

secondary intention

The nurse in the long-term care facility observes that a client has developed a sacral pressure wound, which is very red and surrounded by blisters. Which stage of pressure injury does this client present?

stage II

A nurse is caring for a client with dehydration at the health care facility. The client is receiving glucose intravenously. What type of dressing should the nurse use to cover the IV insertion site?

transparent

A nurse is caring for a 78-year-old client who was admitted after a femur fracture. The primary care provider placed the client on bed rest. Which action should the nurse perform to prevent a pressure injury?

use pillows to maintain a side-lying position as needed

What type of dressing is occlusive or semi-occlusive, limits exchange of oxygen between wound and environment, provides minimal to moderate absorption of drainage, maintains a moist wound environment, and may be left in place for three to seven days, thus resulting in less interference with healing?

hydrocolloid