Multiple Sclerosis (Lippincott)

The nurse is preparing a client with multiple sclerosis (MS) for discharge from the hospital to home. The nurse should tell the client: 1."You will need to accept the necessity for a quiet and inactive lifestyle." 2."Keep active, use stress reduction strategies, and avoid fatigue." 3."Follow good health habits to change the course of the disease." 4."Practice using the mechanical aids that you will need when future disabilities arise."

2. The nurse's most positive approach is to encourage a client with MS to keep active, use stress reduction strategies, and avoid fatigue because it is important to support the immune system while remaining active. A quiet, inactive lifestyle is not necessarily indicated. Good health habits are not likely to alter the course of the disease, although they may help minimize complications. Practicing using aids that will be needed for future disabilities may be helpful but also can be discouraging.

The right hand of a client with multiple sclerosis trembles severely whenever she attempts a voluntary action. She spills her coffee twice at lunch and cannot get her dress fastened securely. Which is the best legal documentation in nurses' notes of the chart for this client assessment? 1."Has an intention tremor of the right hand." 2."Right-hand tremor worsens with purposeful acts." 3."Needs assistance with dressing and eating due to severe trembling and clumsiness." 4."Slight shaking of right hand increases to severe tremor when client tries to button her clothes or drink from a cup."

4. The nurses' notes should be concise, objective, clearly stated, and relevant. This client trembles when she attempts voluntary actions, such as drinking a beverage or fastening clothing. This activity should be described exactly as it occurs so that others reading the note will have no doubt about the nurse's observation of the client's behavior. Identifying the "intentional" activity of daily living will help the interdisciplinary team individualize the client's plan of care. Clarifying what is meant by "worsening" with a purposeful act will facilitate the interrater reliability of the team. It is better to state what the client did than to give vague nursing orders in the nurses' notes.

The nurse should conduct a focused assessment with the client with multiple sclerosis for risk of which of the following? Select all that apply. 1. Dehydration. 2. Falls. 3. Seizures. 4. Skin break down. 5. Fatigue.

2, 4, 5. The client with multiple sclerosis is at risk for falls due to muscle weakness, skin breakdown due to bowel and bladder incontinence, and fatigue. The client is not at risk for dehydration; seizures are not associated with myelin destruction.

When the nurse talks with a client with multiple sclerosis who has slurred speech, which nursing intervention is contraindicated? 1. Encouraging the client to speak slowly. 2. Encouraging the client to speak distinctly. 3. Asking the client to repeat indistinguishable words. 4. Asking the client to speak louder when tired.

4. Asking a client to speak louder even when tired may aggravate the problem. Asking the client to speak slowly and distinctly and to repeat hard-to-understand words helps the client to communicate effectively.

A client with multiple sclerosis (MS) is experiencing bowel incontinence and is starting a bowel retraining program. Which strategy is not appropriate? 1. Eating a diet high in fiber. 2. Setting a regular time for elimination. 3. Using an elevated toilet seat. 4. Limiting fluid intake to 1,000 mL/day.

4. Limiting fluid intake is likely to aggravate rather than relieve symptoms when a bowel retraining program is being implemented. Furthermore, water imbalance, as well as electrolyte imbalance, tends to aggravate the signs and symptoms of MS. A diet high in fiber helps keep bowel movements regular. Setting a regular time each day for elimination helps train the body to maintain a schedule. Using an elevated toilet seat facilitates transfer of the client from the wheelchair to the toilet or from a standing to a sitting position.

Which of the following should the nurse include in the discharge plan for a client with multiple sclerosis who has an impaired peripheral sensation? Select all that apply. 1. Carefully test the temperature of bath water. 2. Avoid kitchen activities because of the risk of injury. 3. Avoid hot water bottles and heating pads. 4. Inspect the skin daily for injury or pressure points. 5. Wear warm clothing when outside in cold temperatures.

1, 3, 4, 5. A client with impaired peripheral sensation does not feel pain as readily as someone whose sensation is unimpaired; therefore, water temperatures should be tested carefully. The client should be advised to avoid using hot water bottles or heating pads and to protect against cold temperatures. Because the client cannot rely on minor pain as an indicator of damaged skin or sore spots, the client should carefully inspect the skin daily to visualize any injuries that he cannot feel. The client should not be instructed to avoid kitchen activities out of fear of injury; independence and self-care are also important. However, the client should meet with an occupational therapist to learn about assistive devices and techniques that can reduce injuries, such as burns and cuts that are common in kitchen activities.

The nurse is teaching a client with bladder dysfunction from multiple sclerosis (MS) about bladder training at home. Which instructions should the nurse include in the teaching plan? Select all that apply. 1. Restrict fluids to 1,000 mL/24 hours. 2. Drink 400 to 500mL with each meal. 3. Drink fluids midmorning, midafternoon, and late afternoon. 4. Attempt to void at least every 2 hours. 5. Use intermittent catheterization as needed.

2, 3, 4, 5. Maintaining urinary function in a client with neurogenic bladder dysfunction from MS is an important goal. The client should ideally drink 400 to 500 mL with each meal; 200 mL midmorning, midafternoon, and late afternoon; and attempt to void at least every 2 hours to prevent infection and stone formation. The client may need to catheterize herself to drain residual urine in the bladder. Restricting fluids during the day will not produce sufficient urine. However, in bladder training for nighttime continence, the client may restrict fluids for 1 to 2 hours before going to bed. The client should drink at least 2,000 mL every 24 hours.

A client with multiple sclerosis (MS) lives with her daughter and 3-year-old granddaughter. The daughter asks the nurse what she can do at home to help her mother. Which of the following measures would be most beneficial? 1. Psychotherapy. 2. Regular exercise. 3. Day care for the granddaughter. 4. Weekly visits by another person with MS.

2. An individualized regular exercise program helps the client to relieve muscle spasms. The client can be trained to use unaffected muscles to promote coordination because MS is a progressive, debilitating condition. The data do not indicate that the client needs psychotherapy, day care for the granddaughter, or visits from other clients.

A client has had multiple sclerosis (MS) for 15 years and has received various drug therapies. What is the primary reason why the nurse has found it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of the drugs that the client has used? 1.The client exhibits intolerance to many drugs. 2.The client experiences spontaneous remissions from time to time. 3.The client requires multiple drugs simultaneously. 4.The client endures long periods of exacerbation before the illness responds to a particular drug.

2. Evaluating drug effectiveness is difficult because a high percentage of clients with MS exhibit unpredictable episodes of remission, exacerbation, and steady progress without apparent cause. Clients with MS do not necessarily have increased intolerance to drugs, nor do they endure long periods of exacerbation before the illness responds to a particular drug. Multiple drug use is not what makes evaluation of drug effectiveness difficult.

Which of the following is not a typical clinical manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS)? 1. Double vision. 2. Sudden bursts of energy. 3. Weakness in the extremities. 4. Muscle tremors.

2. With MS, hyperexcitability and euphoria may occur, but because of muscle weakness, sudden bursts of energy are unlikely. Visual disturbances, weakness in the extremities, and loss of muscle tone and tremors are common symptoms of MS.

A client with multiple sclerosis (MS) is receiving baclofen (Lioresal). The nurse determines that the drug is effective when it achieves which of the following? 1. Induces sleep. 2. Stimulates the client's appetite. 3. Relieves muscular spasticity. 4. Reduces the urine bacterial count.

3. Baclofen is a centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant that helps relieve the muscle spasms common in MS. Drowsiness is an adverse effect, and driving should be avoided if the medication produces a sedative effect. Baclofen does not stimulate the appetite or reduce bacteria in the urine.

Which of the following is not a realistic outcome to establish with a client who has multiple sclerosis (MS)? The client will develop: 1. Joint mobility. 2. Muscle strength. 3. Cognition. 4. Mood elevation.

3. MS is a progressive, chronic neurologic disease characterized by patchy demyelination throughout the central nervous system. This interferes with the transmission of electrical impulses from one nerve cell to the next. MS affects speech, coordination, and vision, but not cognition. Care for the client with MS is directed toward maintaining joint mobility, preventing deformities, maintaining muscle strength, rehabilitation, preventing and treating depression, and providing client motivation.

Which intervention should the nurse suggest to help a client with multiple sclerosis avoid episodes of urinary incontinence? 1. Limit fluid intake to 1,000 mL/day. 2. Insert an indwelling urinary catheter. 3. Establish a regular voiding schedule. 4. Administer prophylactic antibiotics, as prescribed.

3. Maintaining a regular voiding pattern is the most appropriate measure to help the client avoid urinary incontinence. Fluid intake is not related to incontinence. Incontinence is related to the strength of the detrusor and urethral sphincter muscles. Inserting an indwelling catheter would be a treatment of last resort because of the increased risk of infection. If catheterization is required, intermittent self-catheterization is preferred because of its lower risk of infection. Antibiotics do not influence urinary incontinence.