Exam #4 Chapter 39: Management of Patients with Oral and Esophageal Disorders

A client in the emergency department reports that a piece of meat became stuck in the throat while eating. The nurse notes the client is anxious with respirations at 30 breaths/min, frequent swallowing, and little saliva in the mouth. An esophagogastroscopy with removal of foreign body is scheduled for today. What would be the first activity performed by the nurse?

Assess lung sounds bilaterally. All these activities are things the nurse may do for a client with a foreign body in the esophagus. This client is at risk for esophageal perforation, and thus pneumothorax. By auscultating lung sounds the nurse will be able to assess if a pneumothorax is present. The client has little saliva in the oral cavity and does not need to be suctioned. A client may also report pain with a foreign body. However, ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation) take priority. The consent for the esophagogastroscopy may be obtained after the nurse has completed the client assessment.

The health care provider orders the insertion of a single lumen nasogastric tube. When gathering the equipment for the insertion, what will the nurse select?

Levin tube A Levin tube is a single lumen nasogastric tube. A Salem sump tube is a double lumen nasogastric tube; a Sengstaken-Blakemore tube is a triple lumen nasogastric tube. A Miller-Abbott tube is a double lumen nasoenteric tube.

A patient is receiving a continuous tube feeding. The nurse notes that the feeding tube was last irrigated at 2 p.m. The nurse would plan to irrigate the tube again at which time?

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The recommendation is to irrigate the feeding tube of patients receiving continuous tube feedings every 4 to 6 hours. For this patient, the nurse would irrigate the tube next at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

A nurse caring for a client who has had radical neck surgery notices an abnormal amount of serosanguineous secretions in the wound suction unit during the first postoperative day. What is an expected, normal amount of drainage?

Approximately 80 to 120 mL Between 80 to 120 mL may drain over the first 24 hours. Drainage of greater than 120 mL may be indicative of a chyle fistula or hemorrhage.

While caring for a patient who has had radical neck surgery, the nurse notices an abnormal amount of serosanguineous secretions in the wound suction unit during the first postoperative day. What does the nurse know is an expected amount of drainage in the wound unit?

Approximately 80 to 120 mL Wound drainage tubes are usually inserted during surgery to prevent the collection of fluid subcutaneously. The drainage tubes are connected to a portable suction device (e.g., Jackson-Pratt), and the container is emptied periodically. Between 80 and 120 mL of serosanguineous secretions may drain over the first 24 hours.

Postoperatively, a client with a radical neck dissection should be placed in which position?

Fowler The client should be placed in the Fowler position to facilitate breathing and promote comfort. This position also promotes expansion of the lungs because the diaphragm is pulled downward and the abdominal viscera are pulled away from the lungs. The other positions are not the position of choice postoperatively.

Gastrostomy feedings are preferred to nasogastric feedings in the comatose patient, because the:

Gastroesophageal sphincter is intact, lessening the possibility of regurgitation and aspiration. Gastrostomy is preferred over NG feedings in the patient who is comatose because the gastroesophageal sphincter remains intact. Regurgitation and aspiration are less likely to occur with a gastrostomy than with NG feedings.

A client is being evaluated for esophageal cancer. What initial manifestation of esophageal cancer should the nurse assess?

Increasing difficulty in swallowing The client first becomes aware of intermittent and increasing difficulty in swallowing with esophageal cancer. As the tumor grows and the obstruction becomes nearly complete, even liquids cannot pass into the stomach. Other clinical manifestations may include the sensation of a mass in the throat, foul breath, and hiccups, but these are not the most common initial clinical manifestation with clients with esophageal cancer.

The nurse is caring for client scheduled to undergo radical neck dissection. During preoperative teaching, the nurse states that an associated complication is

shoulder drop. The nurse should include shoulder drop as an associated complication of radical neck dissection. Another associated complication is poor cosmesis, which is a visible depression in the neck. Clavicle fracture, venous engorgement, and neck distension are not complications associated with radical neck dissection.