Honan, Chapter 44: Nursing Management: Patients With Oncologic Disorders of the Brain and Spinal Cord
A nurse is caring for a client with a pituitary adenoma. Which laboratory test result suggests that a client has a corticotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma?
High corticotropin and high cortisol levels
A patient is diagnosed with an aggressive, primary malignant brain tumor. The nurse is aware that the glioma:
Originated within the brain tissue.
After a transsphenoidal adenohypophysectomy, a client is likely to undergo hormone replacement therapy. A transsphenoidal adenohypophysectomy is performed to treat which type of cancer?
Pituitary carcinoma
A nurse is providing care to a client recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. When planning this client's care, the nurse anticipates which therapy as providing the best outcome for the client?
Surgery
A client with cerebral metastasis suddenly experiences a seizure for which phenytoin 10 mg/kg intravenously is ordered as an initial loading dose. The client weighs 165 pounds. How many milligrams of phenytoin should the client receive? Enter the number ONLY.
750
The nurse teaches the client diagnosed with Huntington disease that it is transmitted as which type of genetic disorder?
Autosomal dominant
An acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor of which cranial nerve?
Eighth
The nurse is caring for a client with an inoperable brain tumor. What teaching is important for the nurse to do with these clients?
Explaining hospice care and services
The nurse is caring for a client with mid-to-late stage of an inoperable brain tumor. What teaching is important for the nurse to do with this client?
Explaining hospice care and services
The greatest risk of seizures for clients with brain tumors occurs in those who have tumors in which regions of the brain? Select all that apply.
Frontal Parietal Temporal
Which disease is a chronic, progressive, hereditary disease of the nervous system that results in progressive, involuntary dancelike movements and dementia?
Huntington disease
Which of the following are clinical manifestations associated with increased intracranial pressure (ICP)? Select all that apply.
Seizures Nausea with or without vomiting Papilledema Headache
The nurse is seeing the mother of a client who states, "I'm so relieved because my son's doctor told me his brain tumor is benign." The nurse knows what is true about benign brain tumors?
They can affect vital functioning.
Corticosteroids are used in the management of brain tumors to
reduce cerebral edema.
The spouse of a client with terminal brain cancer asks the nurse about hospice. Which statement by the nurse best describes hospice care?
"Clients and families are the focus of hospice care."
The nurse is seeing a client who has just been diagnosed with a meningioma. The client states he is confused because the provider stated, "If you have to be diagnosed with a brain tumor, this is the least harmful." The client asks the nurse for clarification. How should the nurse respond?
"I am unable to interpret what your provider meant by making that statement; however, it is true that meningiomas are slow growing tumors that are not typically fatal."
A client with post-polio syndrome displays fatigue and decreased muscle strength. How should the nurse best respond to the client?
"Intravenous immunoglobulin infusion may help you."
A nurse knows that a patient exhibiting seizure-like movements localized to one side of the body most likely has what type of tumor?
A motor cortex tumor
A client with a brain tumor experiences projectile vomiting. The nurse integrates understanding of this occurrence as resulting from which of the following?
Irritation of the medullary vagal centers
The nurse is providing education to a client who is being discharged with an outpatient treatment plan that includes taking a chemotherapeutic agent. What instructions should the nurse include? Select all that apply.
The client should ensure no one else handles the medication. The client should seek emergency care if he or she develops a fever. Hair loss should be expected when taking the medication.
The nurse is providing health education to a client recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. During the appointment, the client states, "I'm really worried that I will have a seizure while I am at work or with my kids. Should I be concerned about this?" How should the nurse respond?
"There is a risk for seizures in people who have this diagnosis. What have you already discussed with your primary health care provider regarding management of seizures?"
A client whose physical findings suggest a hyperpituitary condition undergoes an extensive diagnostic workup. Test results reveal a pituitary tumor, which necessitates a transsphenoidal hypophysectomy. The evening before the surgery, the nurse reviews preoperative and postoperative instructions given to the client earlier. Which postoperative instruction should the nurse emphasize?
"You must avoid coughing, sneezing, and blowing your nose."
The nursing educator on a neurological unit is conducting a brief in-service on glial cell tumors. The educator tells the nurses that the most common type of glioma is an astrocytoma and that astrocytomas are graded from I to IV, indicating the degree of malignancy. What is the tumor's grading based on?
Cellular density, cell mitosis, and appearance
A patient's recent diagnostic workup has resulted in a diagnosis of a glioma, and a treatment plan is being promptly created by the multidisciplinary care team. The patient's oncologist has recommended chemotherapy, which is to be administered by the intrathecal route. The nurse should understand that the rationale for choosing this administration route involves which of the following considerations?
The drug will bypass the blood-brain barrier.
A client who has just been diagnosed with mixed muscular dystrophy asks the nurse about the usual course of this disease. How should the nurse respond?
"You may experience progressive deterioration in all voluntary muscles."
A 64-year-old woman has been admitted to the neurological unit after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. The woman is slated for neurosurgery the following day, and the woman's daughter has come to the hospital from out of state. After visiting her mother for the first time since she was diagnosed, the daughter is distraught and tells the nurse, "My mother has always been one of the kindest, most considerate people, and I don't remember her ever being so abrasive." How should the nurse best respond to the daughter's statement?
"Those personality changes are probably a result of the tumor's effect on her brain."
What is the most common type of brain neoplasm?
Glioma
A patient diagnosed with a pituitary adenoma has arrived on the oncology unit. Based upon the nurse's initial assessment, the patient is most likely to exhibit:
Headache
The nurse and a nursing student are admitting a client with a malignant glioma brain tumor preoperatively for resection of the tumor. The nursing student asks the nurse, " I was told these types of tumors have a very poor prognosis. Why is the tumor being resected?" Which rationale for this intervention is true?
"Surgical resection of the tumor will decrease intracranial pressure."
A client with a malignant glioma is scheduled for surgery. The client demonstrates a need for additional teaching about the surgery when he states which of the following?
"The surgeon will be able to remove all of the tumor."
A client comes to the clinic for evaluation because of complaints of dizziness and difficulty walking. Further assessment reveals a staggering gait, marked muscle incoordination, and nystagmus. A brain tumor is suspected. Based on the client's assessment findings, the nurse would suspect that the tumor is located in which area of the brain?
Cerebellum
The nurse is caring for a client who underwent surgery to remove a spinal cord tumor. When conducting the postoperative assessment, the nurse notes the presence of a bulge at the surgical site. The nurse suspects the client is experiencing what complication from the surgery?
Cerebrospinal fluid leakage
Which of the following outcomes would be most appropriate to include in the plan of care for a client diagnosed with a muscular dystrophy?
Client participates in activities of daily living using adaptive devices.
A patient has just returned to the unit from the PACU after surgery for a tumor within the spine. The patient complains of pain. When positioning the patient for comfort and to reduce injury to the surgical site, the nurse will position the patient in what position?
In a flat side-lying position
A patient with a brain tumor is complaining of headaches that are worse in the morning. What does the nurse know could be the reason for the morning headaches?
Increased intracranial pressure
The nurse is seeing a female client who has been diagnosed with a pituitary adenoma. During the clinic visit, the client tells the nurse that she has been having irregular menstrual periods despite having very regular menstrual periods all her life. The nurse knows this physiological change is likely related to which characteristic of this type of brain tumor?
Increased prolactin levels
The nurse is assessing a client who was brought to the emergency department due to a severe headache with sudden onset, lowered level of consciousness and slurred, non-sensical speech. The client completed chemotherapy and radiation treatment for a glioma-type brain tumor 6 months ago. The client has been taking low molecular weight heparin since completing treatment. The nurse should be prepared to provide care for which possible problem?
Intracerebral hemorrhage
A client with spinal cord compression from a tumor must undergo diagnostic testing. Which of the following is the most likely procedure for this client?
Magnetic resonance imaging
Which of the following is a brain tumor arising from the supporting structures?
Meningiomas
A client with spinal cord compression from a tumor must undergo diagnostic testing. Which of the following is the most likely procedure for this client?A nurse helps a patient recently diagnosed with a pituitary adenoma understand that:
Most tumors produce too much of one or more hormones.
A 30-year-old female patient has been referred to a specialist by her primary care provider because she has recently developed fat pads at the base of her neck, an increasingly round face, and striae at various locations. The patient's signs of illness have been attributed to a brain tumor. What type of brain tumor is most likely to result in these changes to the woman's physical appearance?
Pituitary adenoma
After assessing a client who is in postoperative recovery from surgery to resect a brain tumor, the nurse notes the client is at risk for aspiration. Which nursing intervention should be included in the client's postoperative care plan?
Position client side lying with head of bed elevated to 30 degrees
A patient's brain tumor has been manifested by seizures that have become more frequent and severe in recent days. The patient has been scheduled for neurosurgery but the nurse is nonetheless making changes to the patient's preoperative nursing care plan. The patient's seizures should cause the nurse to prioritize which of the following nursing diagnoses?
Risk for injury related to seizures
The nurse is providing care for a client who just discussed palliative care with the primary health care provider. The client's family member was also part of the discussion and asks the nurse, "I feel like this kind of treatment means we've given up on trying." How should the nurse respond? Choose the best option.
"The goal of this type of care is to promote the best quality of life that is now possible."
A 66-year-old woman with a recent history of headaches and agitation has been found to have a meningioma. The neurological nurse should understand that the symptoms of this woman's tumor are attributable to what pathophysiological process?
Compression of brain tissue
A patient has been diagnosed with a lipoma. The nurse explains to the patient that this tumor is located in the part of the brain known as the:
Corpus callosum.
Nursing students are reviewing the various types of brain tumors. The students demonstrate understanding of the material when they identify which of the following as the most common type?
Gliomas
