A nurse assesses a client who is recovering from a diskectomy 6 hours ago. Which assessment finding should the nurse address first?

a. Sleepy but arouses to voice
b. Dry and cracked oral mucosa
c. Pain present in lower back
d. Bladder palpated above pubis


ANS: D
A distended bladder may indicate damage to the sacral spinal nerves. The other findings require the nurse to provide care but are not the priority or a complication of the procedure.

Nursing

You might also like to view...

A female client comes to the nursing clinic for a routine physical. When asked how she has been doing, she reports that she has been feeling very low since her youngest child left to attend dental school

She indicates that she has told herself to "just get over it" and find something to do. She has been telling herself that feeling so low is foolish since she is happy her daughter got into a good school. Which coping methods does the nurse recognize in the client's statements? Standard Text: Select all that apply. 1. Talking it out 2. Privately thinking it through 3. Seeking comfort 4. Using symbolic substitutes 5. Relying on self-discipline

Nursing

A patient in the intensive care unit has a nasogastric tube and is also receiving a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). The nurse recognizes that the purpose of the PPI is which effect?

a. Prevent stress ulcers b. Reduce bacteria levels in the stomach c. Reduce gastric gas formation (flatulence) d. Promote gastric motility

Nursing

When are statins traditionally ordered to be taken?

1. At bedtime 2. At noon 3. At breakfast 4. With the evening meal

Nursing

Nurses and Midwives are most likely to find recent, comprehensive and easy-to-access research results in:

a. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) b. Journal articles c. Textbooks d. Dictionaries and encyclopedias

Nursing