Pain Assessment quiz
An emergency department nurse is assessing a client's complaint of upper abdominal pain. To assess the character of the pain, the nurse would begin with what assessment question? -"Is your pain affecting your ability to cope?" -"Can you describe to me how your pain feels?" -"How would you rate your pain on a 10-point scale?" -"Would you describe your pain as acute, or as chronic?"
-"Can you describe to me how your pain feels?"
Which statement by the client would the nurse consider to be an alleviating factor? Select all that apply. -"Elevating my leg makes the swelling go down in my foot." -"Listening to music makes my pain much more tolerable." -"I picture myself on the beach listening to the waves." -"Being on my feet all day makes the swelling in my feet increase." -"Lack of sleep makes it harder for me to deal with the pain."
-"Elevating my leg makes the swelling go down in my foot." -"Listening to music makes my pain much more tolerable." -"I picture myself on the beach listening to the waves."
The nurse is assessing a client's pain. Which question would be most appropriate to ask the client to identify precipitating factors that might have exacerbated the pain? -"What were you doing when the pain first started?" -"Do concurrent symptoms accompany the pain?" -"Is the pain continuous or intermittent?" -"When did you first notice the pain?"
-"What were you doing when the pain first started?"
A client is reporting pain and rates it as 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. When the nurse asks him to describe the pain, he states, "It feels like a knife is stabbing or cutting me." The nurse knows that this type of pain is conducted by which fibers? -A-delta fibers -AC fibers -C fibers -P fibers
-A-delta fibers
An older adult client with osteoarthritis has tearfully admitted to the nurse that she is no longer able to climb the stairs to the second floor of her house due to her knee pain. What nursing diagnosis is suggested by this client's statement? -Ineffective role performance related to osteoarthritis -Situational low self-esteem related to osteoarthritis -Ineffective coping related to knee pain -Activity intolerance related to knee pain
-Activity intolerance related to knee pain
A post-operative client is observed breathing 24 breaths/minute while complaining of 10/10 abdominal pain. The client's oxygen saturation is 90% on 2 liters nasal cannula. What is the nurse's priority action? -Explain why deep breathing and coughing is important. -Manually ventilate client with ambu bag at bedside. -Teach and encourage incentive spirometry use. -Administer prescribed analgesia as ordered.
-Administer prescribed analgesia as ordered.
A client reports pain and rates it as a 9 on a scale of 0 to 10. The nurse administers medication as ordered and returns 20 minutes later to assess the severity of the client's pain. To assess the severity, the nurse would: -Ask the client what makes the pain worse. -Ask the client if he or she needs anything. -Ask the client to rate the pain on a scale of 0 to 10. -Ask about the location of the pain.
-Ask the client to rate the pain on a scale of 0 to 10.
A client who has fractured her arm is describing her pain as "excruciating." The nurse determines that the client is experiencing what type of pain? -Radiating -Deep somatic -Cutaneous -Visceral
-Deep somatic
A nurse is providing care for an 84-year-old client who has diagnoses of middle-stage Alzheimer disease and a femoral head fracture. What assessment tool should the nurse use to assess the client's pain? -Graphic Rating Scale -Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) -Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) -Verbal Descriptor Scale
-Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R)
A nurse is assessing the effect of a client's chronic back pain on his affective dimension. Which question should the nurse ask for this assessment? -What medical conditions do you have? -Where is the pain located? -How does the pain influence your overall mood? -What is the highest level of education you've completed?
-How does the pain influence your overall mood?
A construction worker in his mid-40s suffered a severe laceration on his leg while on the job site. Soon after he arrives at the emergency room, a nurse assesses his pain. The client states that pain, although severe, has lessened since the accident first occurred. The nurse knows that the pain message likely has been inhibited by release of endorphins and other neurotransmitters. Which physiological process does this represent? -Transmission -Modulation -Perception -Transduction
-Modulation
Which would the nurse recognize as a barrier to assessing pain in the older adult? Select all that apply. -The unavailability of pain assessment tools for the older adult. -Treatment of pain can lead to greater quality of life. -Older adults with pain may fear becoming dependent on others. -Older adults may not display an outward reaction to pain. -The belief that pain is a normal part of the aging process.
-Older adults with pain may fear becoming dependent on others. -Older adults may not display an outward reaction to pain. -The belief that pain is a normal part of the aging process.
The nurse is assessing hospitalized post-operative pain and has asked the client to rate his pain, describe it, state the location and onset of when it started. What other question should the nurse include in this pain assessment? -Provoking and alleviating factors -Medications taken in the past -Availability of medication -Financial resources to obtain medication
-Provoking and alleviating factors
The client comes to the emergency department reporting indigestion and left arm pain. The physician orders an EKG along with drawing of cardiac enzymes. When the results are back, the client is informed of the diagnosis of heart attack. The indigestion and arm pain are examples of which of the following? -Referred pain -Cutaneous pain -Visceral pain -Somatic pain
-Referred pain
A nursing instructor is teaching students about the pain experience. The instructor informs the students that a client experiencing pain will have a stress response. The students are aware that this stress response causes the following: -Decrease in blood glucose and lactate levels -Release of epinephrine, cortisol, and norepinephrine -Decrease in oxygen and energy consumption -Decrease in muscle tension and stress
-Release of epinephrine, cortisol, and norepinephrine
A client enters the emergency department moaning and complaining of severe pain in his lower back. Which of the following clinical manifestations should the nurse expect to see in this client as a physiologic response to pain? Select all that apply. -Hypoglycemia -Sleeplessness -Increased heart rate -Perspiration -Increased intestinal motility
-Sleeplessness -Increased heart rate -Perspiration
An elderly farmer has sustained severe injuries after a serious accident involving a combine harvester. At the hospital, he tells the nurse that he thinks the pain he is feeling now is "payback" for living a "mean, selfish life." The nurse recognizes that this response by the man indicates which dimension of pain? -Spiritual dimension -Sociocultural dimension -Cognitive dimension -Affective dimension
-Spiritual dimension
A client reports after a back massage that his lower back pain has decreased from 8 to 3 on the pain scale. What opioid neuromodulator may be responsible for this increased level of comfort? -The release of insulin -The release of dopamine -The release of endorphins -The release of melatonin
-The release of endorphins
A client injures his thumb by accidently slamming the car door shut on it. He arrives at the emergency department in intense pain. Which of the following processes is associated with the transduction process of this pain? -Changes or inhibitions to the pain message relay in the spinal cord -Inflammation leading to conduction of an impulse to the spinal cord -Emotional response and rational interpretation and response -Tissue injury leading to inflammation
-Tissue injury leading to inflammation