PrepU - Chapter 43: Assessment of Digestive and Gastrointestinal Function

A home care nurse is caring for a client with reports of epigastric discomfort who is scheduled for a barium swallow. Which statement by the client indicates an understanding of the test?

"I'll avoid eating or drinking anything 6 to 8 hours before the test."

A client asks the nurse why the physician ordered the blood test carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The nurse answers:

"It indicates if a cancer is present."

The nurse is assessing the abdomen of the client with an undiagnosed disorder. In which sequence would the nurse conduct the abdominal assessment? Use all options.

- Inspection - Auscultation - Percussion - Palpation

Blood flow to the GI tract is approximately what percentage of the total cardiac output?

20%

When completing a nutritional assessment of a patient who is admitted for a GI disorder, the nurse notes a recent history of dietary intake. This is based on the knowledge that a portion of digested waste products can remain in the rectum for how many days after a meal is digested?

3 days

The nurse is caring for a client recovering from an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Which of the following client symptoms would require further nursing assessment?

Abdominal distention

Which of the following is the primary function of the small intestine?

Absorption

Which of the following digestive enzymes aids in the digesting of starch?

Amylase

An older adult client is admitted to an acute care facility for treatment of an acute flare-up of a chronic gastrointestinal condition. In addition to assessing the client for complications of the current illness, the nurse monitors for age-related changes in the gastrointestinal tract. Which age-related change increases the risk of anemia?

Atrophy of the gastric mucosa

When assisting with preparing a client scheduled for a barium swallow, which of the following would be appropriate to include?

Avoid smoking for at least 12 to 24 hours before the procedure.

Which of the following is the most definitive means of assessing for liver disease?

Biopsy

The nurse is to obtain a stool specimen from a client who reported that he is taking iron supplements. The nurse would expect the stool to be which color?

Black

A patient is scheduled for a fiberoptic colonoscopy. What does the nurse know that fiberoptic colonoscopy is most frequently used to diagnose?

Cancer

A client comes into the emergency department with reports of abdominal pain. What should the nurse ask first?

Characteristics and duration of pain

When examining the skin of a client who is dehydrated due to fluid losses from the gastrointestinal tract, which of the following would be most important?

Checking if the mucous membranes are dry

A client is scheduled for several diagnostic tests to evaluate gastrointestinal function. After teaching the client about these tests, the nurse determines that the client has understood the teaching when the client identifies which test as not requiring the use of a contrast medium?

Colonoscopy

The nurse is investigating a client's report of pain in the duodenal area. Where should the nurse perform the assessment?

Epigastric area and consider possible radiation of pain to the right subscapular region

A few hours after eating hot and spicy chicken wings, a client presents with lower chest pain. He wonders if he is having a heart attack. How should the nurse proceed first?

Further investigate the initial complaint.

The nurse auscultates the abdomen to assess bowel sounds. She documents five to six sounds heard in less than 30 seconds. How does the nurse document the bowel sounds?

Hyperactive

Gastrin has which of the following effects on gastrointestinal (GI) motility?

Increased motility of the stomach

When examining the abdomen of a client with reports of nausea and vomiting, what would the nurse do first?

Inspection

After 20 seconds of auscultating for bowel sounds on a client recovering from abdominal surgery, the nurse hears nothing. What should the nurse do based on the assessment findings?

Listen longer for the sounds.

Swallowing is regulated by which area of the central nervous system (CNS)?

Medulla oblongata

The nurse is working with clients with digestive tract disorders. Which of the following organs does the nurse realize has effects as an exocrine gland and an endocrine gland?

Pancreas

The nurse is assisting the health care provider with a gastric acid stimulation test for a client. What medication should the nurse prepare to administer subcutaneously to stimulate gastric secretions?

Pentagastrin

Which of the following is an enzyme secreted by the gastric mucosa?

Pepsin

A client undergoing a diagnostic examination for gastrointestinal disorder was given polyethylene glycol/electrolyte solution as a part of the test preparation. Which of the following measures should the nurse take once the solution is administered?

Permit the client to drink only clear liquids.

Which diagnostic produces images of the body by detecting the radiation emitted from radioactive substances?

Positron emission tomography (PET)

The nurse is scheduling gastrointestinal (GI) diagnostic testing for a client. Which GI test should be scheduled first?

Radiography of the gallbladder

Following ingestion of carrots or beets, the nurse would expect which alteration in stool color?

Red

The nurse is instructing the client who was newly diagnosed with peptic ulcers. Which of the following diagnostic studies would the nurse anticipate reviewing with the client?

Serum antibodies for H. pylori

After teaching a group of students about the various organs of the upper gastrointestinal tract and possible disorders, the instructor determines that the teaching was successful when the students identify which of the following structures as possibly being affected?

Stomach

What would the nurse recognize as preventing a client from being able to take a fecal occult blood test (FOBT)?

The client has hemorrhoidal bleeding

A client with diabetes begins to have digestive problems and is told by the physician that they are a complication of the diabetes. Which of the following explanations from the nurse is most accurate?

The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes.

Which nursing instruction is correct to provide the client following a barium enema?

The stools may be a white or clay colored.

A client is to have an upper GI procedure with barium ingestion and abdominal ultrasonography. While scheduling these diagnostic tests, the nurse must consider which factor?

The ultrasonography should be scheduled before the GI procedure.

The nurse is assisting the health care provider with a colonoscopy for a client with rectal bleeding. The health care provider requests the nurse to administer glucagon during the procedure. Why is the nurse administering this medication during the procedure?

To relax colonic musculature and reduce spasm.

When describing the role of the pancreas to a client with a pancreatic dysfunction, the nurse would identify which substance as being acted on by pancreatic lipase?

Triglycerides

A client was diagnosed with pernicious anemia. Which vitamin cannot be absorbed without an intrinsic factor?

Vitamin B12

The nurse prepares a client for a barium enema. The nurse should place the client on which diet prior to the procedure?

clear liquids day before

A client receives a local anesthetic to suppress the gag reflex for a diagnostic procedure of the upper GI tract. The nurse determines which nursing intervention is advised for this client?

do not give any food and fluids until the gag reflex returns

Cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder characterized by pulmonary and pancreatic dysfunction, usually appears in young children but can also affect adults. If the pancreas was functioning correctly, where would the bile and pancreatic enzymes enter the GI system?

duodenum

The major carbohydrate that tissue cells use as fuel is

glucose

Which response is a parasympathetic response in the GI tract?

increased peristalsis

The nurse prepares to administer the lavage solution to a client having a colonoscopy completed. The nurse stops and notifies the physician when noting that the client has which condition?

inflammatory bowel disease

A client tells the nurse that the stool was colored yellow. The nurse assesses the client for

recent foods ingested.

Which procedure is performed to examine and visualize the lumen of the small bowel?

small bowel enteroscopy

The nurses assesses the client for blood in the stool due to an upper GI condition. The nurse understands that if there is blood in the stool, the stool will be which color?

tarry black

Which enzyme aids in the digestion of protein?

trypsin

The client describes a test previously completed to detect a small bowel obstruction prior to admission to the hospital. The client states that the test involved insertion of a tube through the nose and lasted over 6 hours. The nurse determines which test name should be documented?

upper GI enteroclysis

The nurse recognizes which change of the GI system is an age-related change?

weakened gag reflex

The nurse recognizes which change of the gastrointestinal system is an age-related change?

weakened gag reflex