Your 85-year-old patient is complaining of right knee pain. She has a history of osteoarthritis, for which she is given antiinflammatory medication. To assess her right knee pain, you should ask her if:
a. the current pain is similar to previous pain.
b. the left knee hurts as well.
c. she took pain medication last night.
d. the pain gets better when she sits.
C
It is most appropriate to ask a present tense evaluation question, such as whether the patient took her pain medication; the question should be simply worded, without the addition of multiple fac-tors to consider. You should refrain from asking older patients to compare past with present symptoms because recollection may be uncertain and recollection of past pain is sometimes not readily achieved. Systematic evaluation of the right knee should be completed before any addi-tional symptoms are evaluated. Knowing that the pain gets better when she sits does not help as-sess the right knee pain.
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