A stroke patient is having difficulty swallowing food and beverages. The patient complains that he feels like "the food is sticking to the back of his throat." Given this information, the priority nursing interventions would be to
A)
make the patient "nothing per os" (NPO) and call the physician.
B)
feed the patient while he is sitting in an upright position.
C)
add a thickening agent to all of the patient's beverages.
D)
warrant no action since this is a normal occurrence after a stroke.
Ans:
A
Feedback:
People with dysphagia usually complain of choking, coughing, or an abnormal sensation of food sticking in the back of the throat or upper chest when they swallow. A neuromuscular cause involves lesions of the CNS, such as a stroke, which often involve the cranial nerves that control swallowing. Feeding in upright position is good once it is determined by swallowing evaluation that the patient can swallow food without it going into the lungs. Likewise, thickening agents help dysphagia patients after a swallow evaluation has been performed. No action could put the patient at risk for aspiration pneumonia.
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