ATI SM 3.0: Specimen Collection

A nurse is caring for a patient who has a suspected urinary tract infection (UTI). Which of the following urinalysis results should indicate to the nurse the manifestation/presence of a UTI? A. Leukocyte esterase B. Trace amount of protein C. Specific gravity of 1.010 D. pH of 6.0

A. Leukocyte esterase Rationale: Leukocyte esterase indicates the presence of a urinary tract infection.

A nurse is teaching a pt about home collection of a stool specimen for fecal occult blood testing. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include? A. Obtain specimens from three different stools. B. Eat a diet low in fiber and residue. C. Avoid foods that are high in fat. D. Refrigerate the specimen card after obtaining the first sample.

A. Obtain specimens from three different stools. Rationale: Three specimens must be taken from three separate, consecutive bowel movements.

A nurse is instructing patient regarding collection of stool specimens for fecal occult blood testing. Which of the following should the nurse instruct the patient to avoid before & during the testing period? A. Poultry B. Vitamin E supplements C. Yogurt D. Calcium supplements

A. Poultry Rationale: Red meat, poultry, seafood, and some raw vegetables can cause false-positive fecal occult blood testing results.

A nurse caring for a group of patients in an ambulatory care clinic is collecting urine for several prescribed diagnostic tests. For which of the following tests is a random sample voided into a clean cup appropriate? A. Urine culture and sensitivity B. Routine urinalysis C. Urine creatinine clearance D. Urine pregnancy testing

B. Routine urinalysis Rationale: Routine urinalysis can be done on a random clean-voided specimen collected during normal voiding into a clean urine cup.

The nurse is collecting a blood specimen for culture from a patient. Which of the following actions should the nurse take? A. Keep the tourniquet in place from selection of the vein to completion of the collection. B. Rub the client's arm at the selected site prior to venipuncture. C. Elevate the client's arm above heart level for the venipuncture. D. Puncture the selected vein while the antiseptic solution is still visible on the skin.

B. Rub the client's arm at the selected site prior to venipuncture. Rationale: Stroking arm from distal area to proximal area below proposed site can help dilate the vein, but vigorous rubbing should be avoided due to potential for injury.

A nurse is caring for a client who needs to collect a midstream urine specimen. Which of the following actions should the nurse take? A. Give the client a clean urine cup from the laboratory. B. Instruct the client to cleanse the perineal area from back to front. C. Have the client urinate a small amount of urine before starting the collection. D. Tell the client to collect about 10 mL of urine.

C. Have the client urinate a small amount of urine before starting the collection. Rationale: Urinating a small amount before collection helps cleanse urethral meatus of any bacteria that might be present.

A nurse is caring for a client who has a Stage III pressure injury on the sacral area. Which of the following actions should the nurse take when obtaining a wound culture specimen from the pressure injury? A. Irrigate the wound with an antiseptic solution before collecting the specimen. B. Wipe the crusty area around the outside of the wound with a sterile swab. C. Rotate a sterile swab in the area of drainage. D. Collect drainage from the wound dressing.

C. Rotate a sterile swab in the area of drainage. Rationale: Rotating a swab in center of wound base to collect drainage is appropriate technique for collecting a specimen for wound culture. It is important to avoid wound's edges when collecting specimen.

A nurse caring for a patient who has diabetes mellitus is having difficulty obtaining a capillary fingerstick blood sample for point-of-care blood glucose testing. Which of the following actions should the nurse take to help increase blood flow to the client's finger? A. Elevate the hand on a pillow. B. Pierce the skin in the middle of the finger pad. C. Wrap the finger in a warm cloth. D. Firmly milk the puncture site.

C. Wrap the finger in a warm cloth. Rationale: Heat helps increase blood flow to the area to be punctured.

An assistive personnel (AP) is collect a 24-hour urine specimen from a patient. Which of the following statements by the AP indicates that the specimen collection will have to be restarted? A. "I used a container from the lab that has a preservative in it." B. "The client just voided into the toilet, so the next void can be collected." C. "I have the container in a plastic bucket filled with ice." D. "The client just told me that they forgot to put the urine in the container."

D. "The client just told me that they forgot to put the urine in the container." Rationale: If the pt urinates & discards the urine, the timing of specimen must begin again w/ the next urination.

A nurse obtains a capillary blood glucose result of 180 mg/dL from a patient who has diabetes mellitus. Which of the following actions should the nurse take? A. Encourage the client to get up and exercise. B. Repeat the test using a different glucometer. C. Give the client a glass of orange juice. D. Administer insulin according to the patient's sliding scale orders.

D. Administer insulin according to the patient's sliding scale orders. Rationale: A reading above the expected reference range warrants following provider's orders for sliding scale insulin based on specific result.