Targeted Med Surgery Neuro and Musculoskeletal

A nurse is caring for a client who is 72 hr postoperative following an above-the-knee amputation and reports phantom limb pain. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

C. Administer an oral dose of Gabapentin to the client. (The nurse should administer a nonopioid medication to help minimize phantom limb pain. Gabapentin is an oral antiepileptic medication that is effective for treating sharp, burning, phantom limb pain.)

A nurse is reviewing postoperative instructions with a client following cataract surgery. Which of the following client statements indicates an understanding of instructions?

A. "I should call my doctor if my vision gets worse." (The client should report negative changes in vision immediately because there should be an improvement in vision after the surgery.)

A nurse in the emergency department is assessing a client who has myasthenia gravis. The client reports recent increasing muscle weakness and the nurse suspects the client is experiencing a myasthenic crisis. Which of the following actions is the nurse's priority?

B. Assist with a Tensilon test. (The first action the nurse should take using the nursing process is to assess the client. The Tensilon test will determine whether the client is having a myasthenic crisis or a cholinergic crisis.)

A nurse is caring for a client who has a full arm cast and reports pain of 8 on a scale from 0 to 10 that is unrelieved by pain medication. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take first?

B. Check the circulation of the affected extremity. (The greatest risk to the client is neuromuscular injury resulting from compartment syndrome. The first action the nurse should take is to check for circulation impairment in the affected extremity.)

A nurse is providing teaching for a client who is prescribed alendronate for osteoporosis. Which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching?

B. Remain upright for 30 min after taking this medication. (To prevent esophagitis or esophageal ulcers that can result from alendronate therapy, the client should sit up for 30 min after taking this medication.)

A nurse is caring for a client who has a spastic bladder following a spinal cord injury. Which of the following actions should the nurse take to help stimulate micturition?

B. Stroke the client's inner thigh. (The nurse should stimulate micturition by stroking the client's inner thigh. Other techniques include pinching the skin above the groin and providing digital anal stimulation.)

A nurse is providing teaching regarding a new prescription for carbidopa-levodopa for a client who has Parkinson's disease. Which of the following client statements indicates an understanding of the teaching?

C. "I should expect my urine to be a darker color." (Saliva, urine, and sweat can darken in color during carbidopa-levodopa therapy. This is a harmless adverse effect.)

A nurse is providing teaching for a client and his family about the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Which of the following statements by the family indicates an understanding of the teaching?

D. "The drugs used to treat Alzheimer's disease can help delay cognitive changes." (Medications that treat Alzheimer's disease enhance the availability of acetylcholine, which can slow cognitive decline in some clients.)

A nurse is caring for a client who has viral meningitis. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

D. Check capillary refill at least every 4 hr (The nurse should perform a complete vascular assessment at least every 4 hr to monitor for vascular compromise.)

A nurse is caring for a client in balanced suspension skeletal traction who reports intermittent muscle spasms. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

D. Check the position of the weights and ropes. (The first action the nurse should take when using the nursing process is to assess the client. The nurse should first check the position of the weights and ropes to investigate the cause of the muscle spasms. The weights might be too heavy, or the nurse might need to realign the client.)

A nurse is caring for a client who is recovering from a stroke and has right-sided homonymous hemianopsia. To help the client adapt, the nurse should take which of the following actions?

D. Remind the client to look consciously at both sides of his meal tray. (Clients who have right-sided homonymous hemianopsia have lost the right visual field of both eyes and might only eat the food he is able to see on the left half of the meal tray. Therefore, the nurse should remind the client to look at both sides of his meal tray to help him compensate for the visual loss.)

A nurse is performing a pain assessment on a postoperative client. Which of the following should the nurse use to determine the severity of the client's pain?

D. Clients report of pain on a pain scale (The nurse should use a client's report of pain on a standardized pain scale to determine the severity of the client's pain.)

A nurse is assessing a client who is quadriplegic secondary to a cervical fracture at vertebral level C5. The client reports a throbbing headache and nausea. The nurse notes facial flushing and a blood pressure of 220/110 mm Hg. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

D. Elevate the head of the client's bed. (These assessment findings indicate that the client is experiencing autonomic dysreflexia and is at greatest risk for possible rupture of a cerebral vessel or increased intracranial pressure. The first action the nurse should take is to move the client from a supine to an upright position, which will result in rapid postural hypotension)

A nurse is caring for a client who was admitted for status epilepticus and is on seizure precautions. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take?

D. Establish IV access. (The nurse should plan to establish IV access with a large-bore catheter and administer 0.9% sodium chloride if seizures are imminent. If the client is stable, the nurse should initiate a saline lock.)

A nurse is teaching a client who has epilepsy and is to start therapy with phenytoin. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the client's medication teaching plan?

D. Take medications at a consistent time each day to maintain therapeutic blood levels. (The client should take antiepileptic medications on a regular schedule to maintain therapeutic blood levels and achieve the maximum effect.)

A nurse is planning care for a client who has a closed head injury from a fall and is receiving mechanical ventilation. Which of the following interventions is the nurse's priority?

A. Maintain a PaCO2 of approximately 35 mm Hg. (The greatest risk to this client is injury from increased intracranial pressure. Therefore, the nurse's priority action is to maintain the PaCO2 at 35 to 38 mm Hg to prevent hypercarbia and subsequent vasodilation that can lead to an increase in intracranial pressure.)

A nurse is developing a teaching plan for a client who has Ménière's disease. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include?

A. Move head slowly to decrease vertigo. (The client should use slow head movements to keep from worsening the vertigo.)

A nurse is assessing a client who has a new diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect? (Select all that apply.)

Crepitus with joint movement (Crepitus, a grating sound, is an expected finding of osteoarthritis as loosened bone and cartilage move in the diseased joint.) Decreased range of motion of the affected joint (Decreased range of motion is an expected finding of osteoarthritis because the client's pain limits movement.) Joint pain that resolves with rest (Clients who have osteoarthritis have increased pain with activity and decreased pain with rest.)

A nurse is caring for a client who has a basilar skull fracture following a fall from a ladder. Which of the following assessment findings should the nurse report to the provider?

D. Clear drainage from nose (Clear drainage from the nose indicates that cerebrospinal fluid is leaking from the skull fracture. This places the client at risk for meningeal infection because micro-organisms have access to the cranium through the nose and the tear in the dura. The nurse should report this finding to the provider.)

A nurse is providing teaching for a client who is postoperative following a right hip arthroplasty. Which of the following images indicates the position the nurse should teach the client to take when sitting in a chair?

Sitting normal with feet flat on the floor (The nurse should instruct the client to sit with the hips at a 90° angle with the knees slightly lower than the hips to avoid hip dislocation.)

A nurse in the emergency department is assessing a client who reports sudden, severe eye pain with blurred vision. The provider determines the client has primary angle-closure glaucoma. Which of the following medications should the nurse administer?

A. Osmotic diuretics via I.V bolus (The nurse should administer osmotic diuretics, such as mannitol, to reduce intraocular pressure and prevent damage to the eye.)

A nurse is assessing a client who has a possible head injury following a motor-vehicle crash. The nurse should recognize that which of the following findings indicates increasing intracranial pressure?

A. Restlessness (Behavioral changes, such as restlessness and irritability, are early manifestations of increased intracranial pressure.)

A nurse in the emergency department is caring for a client after suddenly losing consciousness and falling in her home. The provider determines the client had an embolic stroke. Which of the following medications should the nurse administer?

A. Tissue plasminogen activator (Tissue plasminogen activator is a thrombolytic agent that should dissolve the blood clot that caused the stroke.)

A nurse is assessing a client who has rheumatoid arthritis. Which of the following assessment findings should the nurse expect?

B. Ulnar deviation (The inflammation that occurs in the hand joints can make them susceptible to deformity from daily use. Ulnar deviation, or lateral deviation of the fingers, can occur from opening jars and other similar motions.)

A nurse is caring for a client who has a retinal detachment. Which of the following reports about the affected eye should the nurse expect?

C. Flashes of bright light (During retinal detachment, the client can see flashes of bright light or floating dark spots in the affected eye as the retinal layers separate.)

A nurse is assessing a client who had a right hemispheric stroke. Which of the following neurologic deficits should the nurse expect?

C. Impulsive behavior (The nurse should expect clients who had a right hemispheric stroke to demonstrate impulsive behavior, poor judgment, and lack of awareness of neurologic deficits.)

A nurse is caring for a client who has multiple sclerosis. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

C. Intention tremors (Clients who have multiple sclerosis are at risk for motor dysfunction, with intention tremors, poor coordination, and loss of balance.)

A nurse is caring for a client who has advancing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Which of the following interventions is the nurse's priority?

C. Monitor pulse oximetry findings. (The greatest risk to the client is respiratory compromise due to progressive paralysis of respiratory muscles. Therefore, the priority intervention is to monitor the client's oxygen saturation to identify respiratory compromise as soon as possible.)

A nurse is teaching an assistive personnel (AP) about care of a client following a total hip arthroplasty. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include?

D. Place an abductor pillow between the clients legs when turning the client (The nurse should inform the AP that a client who had a total hip arthroplasty should maintain the hip in abduction following surgery to reduce the risk of dislocating the surgical hip. The AP should place an abductor pillow between the client's legs when turning the client to keep her hips in abduction.)

A nurse working in the emergency department is caring for a client who has sustained a fracture of the femur following a motor-vehicle crash. Which of the following images indicates a comminuted fracture?

This is an image of a comminuted fracture, in which the injury causes the bone to fragment into several pieces. (Picture that looks the worse without being completely separated in two. The other choices are a spiral fracture, an open fracture [sticking out of skin] and a greenstick fracture [little chip broken but not cracked all the way through])