A patient is postoperative day 1 following intracranial surgery. The nurse's assessment reveals that the patient's LOC is slightly decreased compared with the day of surgery. What is the nurse's best response to this assessment finding?
A) Recognize that this may represent the peak of post-surgical cerebral edema.
B) Alert the surgeon to the possibility of an intracranial hemorrhage.
C) Understand that the surgery may have been unsuccessful.
D) Recognize the need to refer the patient to the palliative care team.
Ans: A
Feedback:
Some degree of cerebral edema occurs after brain surgery; it tends to peak 24 to 36 hours after surgery, producing decreased responsiveness on the second postoperative day. As such, there is not necessarily any need to deem the surgery unsuccessful or to refer the patient to palliative care. A decrease in LOC is not evidence of an intracranial hemorrhage.
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