chapter 12: Altered Somatic and Special Sensory Function

Following an automobile accident that resulted in a traumatic amputation of the right lower leg, the client complains of feeling tingling, heaviness, and shooting pain in the amputated limb. The health care providers treat phantom limb pain by using which interventions? Select all that apply.

- TENS of the large myelinated afferents innervating the area - Hypnosis - Relaxation techniques

An adult client has undergone testing for otosclerosis. Which interview question is most appropriate to the pathophysiology of this disease?

"Has anyone else in your family been diagnosed with this disease?"

The nurse is teaching a client about various methods of pain control. Which information will the nurse include when teaching the client about applying heat for pain control?

"Heat promotes more blood flow to the area to improve oxygen supply."

An older adult client is scheduled for outpatient cataract surgery. While taking a presurgery history, which statement by the client correlates to the manifestations of cataracts, thereby verifying the client has received information about the condition?

"I have blurred vision in both my eyes and my vision is distorted."

An older adult client has been diagnosed with macular degeneration. Which statement by the client best demonstrates an accurate understanding of the new diagnosis?

"I suppose that this may be one of the things that happens when you get older."

The nurse is working with a client who has been diagnosed with recurring migraine headaches. Which advice by the nurse is most appropriate?

"Many people find that maintaining regular eating and sleeping habits is beneficial."

The nurse is teaching a client who has tinnitus about suggested dietary modifications. What information is most important for the nurse to include?

"Try cutting down on foods high in monosodium glutamate."

For which older adult client would pain assessment likely be most challenging for the nurse?

An 87-year-old client with vascular dementia and numerous other health problems, such as heart failure

The nurse is explaining the role of aqueous humor in the development of glaucoma to a client who has just been diagnosed with the condition. How should the nurse describe the role of aqueous humor in the pathogenesis of glaucoma?

Aqueous humor is continually produced and drained to maintain the appropriate pressure. In glaucoma, the normal drainage is impeded and the increased pressure can damage the optic nerve.

A client presents with copious amounts of yellow-green drainage, conjunctival redness, and chemosis to the right eye. A culture of the eye drainage reveals S. pneumoniae. The client most likely developed:

Bacterial conjunctivitis

A client presents to the clinic complaining, "I have something in my eye." When questioned, the client admits to a scratching and burning sensation and light sensitivity. The health care provider suspects the client has developed:

Conjunctivitis

Select the statement that best describes Meniere disease.

Meniere disease is a disorder of the inner ear due to distention of the endolymphatic compartment of the inner ear, causing hearing loss, vertigo, and tinnitus.

Which visual deficit is a clinician justified in attributing to the normal aging process?

Presbyopia

A client expresses concern about feeling fullness in the ear. Which additional manifestation leads the health care provider to suspect Menière disease?

Rotary vertigo and tinnitus

The nurse is caring for an older adult client with a suspected diagnosis of presbycusis. Select the most likely manifestation.

Sensorineural hearing loss caused by natural aging

A nurse working in an outpatient pediatric clinic notes a large number of ear infections among children. What is the nurse's understanding of this increased rate?

The eustachian tube is narrower in children.

A student is feeling inside her backpack to find her mobile phone. There are a number of other items in the backpack. Which component of somatosensory conduction is most likely to provide the detailed sensory information that will help her distinguish her phone from other items?

The primary dorsal root ganglion neuron, dorsal column neuron, and the thalamic neuron

Which characteristic differentiates a migraine with aura from a migraine without aura?

Visual symptoms such as flickering lights precede the headache

A client with a history of migraine headaches tells the physician that he or she usually experiences an aura before the onset of the headache. The client is most likely experiencing:

visual distrubances

When pupillary dilation partially compensates for the reduced size of the retinal image by increasing the light entering the pupil, this is a component of which eye adjustment?

accommodation

Although both vertigo and dizziness can result from peripheral or central vestibular disorders, vertigo is distinctly different because it causes:

an illusion of motion.

The nurse is caring for a client with visual impairment who states recent difficulty seeing clearly at night. Which condition does the nurse suspect the client may suffer from?

vitamin a deficiency

The nurse is caring for a client who reports having a mildly painful, itchy ear canal with no other associated symptoms. For which condition will the nurse assess the client based on the presenting symptoms?

external otitis (acute otitis externa or swimmer's ear)

A client is experiencing chest pain that radiates to the left arm and neck. The nurse would interpret this pain as:

referred