Prep U: Ch 32 Wound Care
To determine a client's risk for pressure injury development, it is most important for the nurse to ask the client which question?
"Do you experience incontinence?" -The client's health history is an essential component in assessing the client's integumentary status and identification of risk factors for problems with the skin. The priority question addresses a source of moisture on the skin. Moisture makes the skin more susceptible to injury because it can create an environment in which microorganisms can multiply, and the skin is more likely to blister, suffer abrasions, and become macerated (softening or disintegration of the skin in response to moisture). Sound nutrition is important in the prevention and treatment of pressure injuries. The number of meals eaten per day does not give a clear assessment of nutritional status. The nurse should question the client about the skin care regimen, such as the use of lotions, but this would not be the priority in determining the risk for pressure injury development. Asking the client about any recent illnesses is not a priority in determining the risk for pressure injury development.
The nurse is caring for a client with an ankle sprain. Which client statement regarding an ice pack indicates that nursing teaching has been effective?
"I will put a layer of cloth between my skin and the ice pack."
The nurse is providing perioperative teaching to 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." Wounds that are brown or black are necrotic and not considered normal. Slough is dead moist, stringy dead tissue on the wound surface that is yellow, tan, gray, or green. Undermining is tissue erosion from underneath intact skin at the wound edge.
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?
"The drain allows removal of blood and drainage from the surgical wound, which enables healing and protects the skin around the wound."
The nurse is teaching a client about healing of a minor surgical wound by first intention. What teaching will the nurse include?
"Very little scar tissue will form." -Very little scar tissue is expected to form in a minor surgical wound. Second-intention healing involves a complex reparative process in which the margins of the wound are not in direct contact. Third-intention healing takes place when the wound edges are intentionally left widely separated and later brought together for closure.
The acute care nurse is caring for a client whose large surgical wound is healing by secondary intention. The client asks, "Why is my wound still open? Will it ever heal?" Which response by the nurse is most appropriate?
"Your wound will heal slowly as granulation tissue forms and fills the wound." -This statement is correct, because it provides education to the client: "Your wound will heal slowly as granulation tissue forms and fills the wound." Large wounds with extensive tissue loss may not be able to be closed by primary intention, which is surgical intervention. Secondary intention, in which the wound is left open and closes naturally, is not done if less of a scar is necessary. Third intention is when a wound is left open for a few days and then, if there is no indication of infection, closed by a surgeon.
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. -An infant's skin and mucous membranes are easily injured and at risk for infection. In children younger than 2 years, the skin is thinner and weaker than in adults. The structure of the skin changes as a person ages. A child's skin becomes more resistant to injury and infection as the child grows.
A nurse applies an aquathermia pad to the back of a client with arthritis. What administration considerations should the nurse use? Select all that apply.
Apply a bath blanket over the aquathermia pad. Assess skin and pain level at baseline and ongoing. Check the water level in the aquathermia unit periodically.
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.
When removing a wound dressing, the nurse observes some skin irritation next to the right side of the wound edge where the tape was removed. Because the client requires frequent dressing changes, the nurse decides to use Montgomery straps to secure the dressing from now on. How will the nurse apply the skin barrier needed before applying the straps?
Apply skin barrier at least 1 in (2.5 cm) away from the area of irritation. - The skin barrier should be placed at least 1 in (2.5 cm) away from the area of irritation and should be placed on both sides of the wound. Skin barrier should not be placed over the area of irritation; it should only be placed on skin that is intact. The skin barrier should be applied to both sides of the wound as the Montgomery straps are applied to both sides of the wound on the intact skin surrounding the wound and 1 in (2.5 cm) away from any irritated or nonintact skin.
A client reports acute pain while negative pressure wound therapy is in place. What should the nurse do first?
First, the nurse should assess the client. The nurse needs to assess the wound, assess if the therapy is working properly, assess the client's vital signs, and assess the pain. The other options might be appropriate but only after the client has been assessed.
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 is the partial or total separation of wound layers as a result of excessive stress on wounds that are not healed. Clients at greater risk for these complications include those who are obese or malnourished, smoke tobacco, use anticoagulants, have infected wounds, or experience excessive coughing, vomiting, or straining. An increase in the flow of fluid from the wound between postoperative days 4 and 5 may be a sign of an impending dehiscence. The client may say that "something has suddenly given way." If dehiscence occurs, cover the wound area with sterile towels moistened with sterile 0.9% sodium chloride solution and notify the health care provider. Once dehiscence occurs, the wound is managed like any open wound. Manifestations of infection include redness, warmth, swelling, and heat. With herniation, there is protrusion through a bodily opening. Evisceration is a term that describes protrusion of intra-abdominal contents.
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 is the protrusion of viscera through an abdominal wound opening. Evisceration can follow dehiscence if the opening extends deeply enough to allow the abdominal fascia to separate and internal organs to protrude.
A nurse caring for a client who has a surgical wound after a caesarean birth notes dehiscence of the wound, what is the main priority of nursing care?
Notify the surgeon, apply a sterile saline-moistened dressing to the open areas, and support the wound during coughing or abdominal movement -With dehiscence, there is an unintentional separation of wound edges, especially in a surgical wound. Dehiscence is not a medical emergency. However, the nurse will notify the surgeon and protect the open wound areas with a sterile saline-moistened dressing. Also, the nurse will implement preventative measures such as splinting the wound with a pillow during movement to prevent further dehiscence or evisceration. Approximating the wound edges and applying wound closure tapes may cause the client undue pain and trap bacteria in the wound. Irrigating the open wound may cause unwanted bacteria from the surrounding area to wash into the wound.
Collection of a wound culture has been ordered for a client whose traumatic hand wound is showing signs of infection. When collecting this laboratory specimen, which action should the nurse take?
Rotate the swab several times over the wound surface to obtain an adequate specimen. The swab should be inserted into the culture tube at the bedside, immediately after collection. Saline or any other fluid is not added to the tube and anesthetics are not applied prior to collection
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 best action by the nurse at this time?
The best action by the nurse at this time is to discontinue the therapy and assess the client; this should be done before notifying the health care provider or documenting the event. Gently rubbing the area or massaging it would not be appropriate at this time.
A full-thickness or third-degree burn develops a leathery covering called a(an):
The full-thickness or third-degree burn appears dry and leathery. The term for this presentation is called eschar. Eschar is a thick, leathery scab or dry crust that is necrotic.
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?
The swab and the inside of the culture tube should be kept sterile prior to the procedure. The wound should be cleansed prior to obtaining the culture. The culture swab should not touch the skin surrounding the wound site. In addition, if multiple sites have to be cultured then separate culture swabs should be used.
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?
Using pillows to maintain a side-lying position allows the nursing staff to change position to alleviate and alternate pressure on client's bony prominences. The client's position should be changed a minimum of every 2 hours. In addition, incontinent care should be performed a minimum of every 2 hours and as needed to decrease moisture and irritation of the skin. A foot board prevents foot drop but does not decrease the risk for pressure injury.
A nurse is cleaning the wound of a client who has been injured by a gunshot. Which guideline is recommended for this procedure?
Using sterile technique, clean the wound from the top to the bottom and from the center to the outside. Dry the area with a gauze sponge, not an absorbent cloth.
The nurse is assessing the wounds of clients in a burn unit. Which wound would most likely heal by primary intention?
a surgical incision with sutured approximated edges -Wounds healed by primary intention are well approximated (skin edges tightly together). Intentional wounds with minimal tissue loss, such as those made by a surgical incision with sutured approximated edges, usually heal by primary intention. Wounds healed by secondary intention have edges that are not well approximated. Large, open wounds, such as from burns or major trauma, which require more tissue replacement and are often contaminated, commonly heal by secondary intention. If a wound that is healing by primary intention becomes infected, it will heal by secondary intention. Wounds that heal by secondary intention take longer to heal and form more scar tissue. Connective tissue healing and repair follow the same phases in healing. However, differences occur in the length of time required for each phase and in the extent of new tissue formed. Wounds healed by tertiary intention, or delayed primary closure, are those wounds left open for several days to allow edema or infection to resolve or fluid to drain, and then are closed.
The client has a minor laceration to the finger, sustained when a client was cutting fruit with a knife in the kitchen. Which nursing concern will the nurse identify for this client's care plan?
altered skin integrity due to open wound -Altered skin integrity best describes the minor laceration. Although the other nursing concerns of pain, knowledge deficiency, and infection risk are possible as a result of the laceration, there is no indication in the scenario that they are the case.
The nurse would recognize which client as being particularly susceptible to impaired wound healing?
an obese woman with a history of type 1 diabetes
A nurse is admitting a client to a long-term care facility. What should the nurse plan to use to assess the client for risk of pressure injury development?
braden scale
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 -Purulent drainage is frequently foul-smelling and may vary in color; such drainage is associated with infection and should be reported to the health care provider. Clear, watery (serous), blood-tinged (serosanguineous), and bloody (sanguineous) drainage are not commonly indicative of infection and may be seen in the drain during various stages of wound healing.
A medical-surgical nurse is assisting a wound care nurse with the debridement of a client's coccyx wound. What is the primary goal of this action?
removing dead or infected tissue to promote wound healing
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?
the nurse should moisten sterile gauze with sterile saline and gently loosen crusts before removing the sutures; soap is not used for this purpose. Picking at the sutures could cause pain and bleeding. Crusting does not necessarily indicate inadequate wound healing.
