A nurse is ready to take the temperature of an adult patient rectally. The nurse's realizes that rectal temperatures are which of the following?

Question

a. Preferable to oral temperatures
b. Safer than oral temperatures if the patient has neutropenia
c. The best way to obtain temperatures in newborns
d. That readings can be influenced by im-pacted stool

Answer 1

D
Rectal temperature readings are sometimes influenced by impacted stool. A rectal temperature is argued to be more reliable than alternative sites when oral temperature is difficult or impossible to obtain, but are not used for patients with diarrhea or those who have had rectal surgery, rectal disorders, bleeding tendencies, or neutropenia, and are not used for routine vital signs in new-borns.