A client has a cast applied to the leg for treatment of a tibia fracture and also has a wound on the leg that requires dressing changes due to drainage. For what should the nurse prepare the client?
A) Cutting of a bivalve cast
B) Cutting a cast window
C) Removal of the cast
D) Insertion of an external fixator
B
Feedback:
After the cast dries, a cast window, or opening, may be cut. This usually is done when the client reports discomfort under the cast or has a wound that requires a dressing change. The window permits direct inspection of the skin, a means to check the pulse in a casted arm or leg, or a way to change a dressing. A bivalve cast is when the cast is cut in two if the leg swells or if the client is being weaned from a cast, when a sharp x-ray is needed, or as a splint for immobilizing painful joints when a client has arthritis. The cast should not be removed due to the instability of a fracture. The client's condition does not indicate an external fixator is required.
You might also like to view...
The nurse observes the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) obtaining vital signs. Which would indicate a safe temperature measurement procedure?
1. Taking an oral temperature on a 2-year-old child 2. Taking a rectal temperature on a client who had a hemorrhoidectomy earlier this morning 3. Taking an axillary temperature on a confused client who was combative earlier in the day 4. Taking a tympanic temperature on a client with a large amount of cerumen in the ear
A patient is close to death with terminal liver cancer with widespread metastases and calls the nursing staff to his room every 5 minutes. Which interventions will be most supportive and in the best interest of the patient?
a. Encourage and insist that the family re-quest a transfer to hospice care because the general hospital does not have enough staff members to keep responding to the patient's end-stage frequent calling and requests for minor help. b. Use fixed interval and cocktail medication administration. Frequently evaluate for breakthrough pain and anxieties. Answer the call bell quickly on the intercom or in person. c. Tell the family that as of this afternoon, all of the patient's questions, comments, and expressed fears of dying and financial worries will be referred to the social worker, physician, or clergy. Otherwise, one of them can come in and sit beside the bed. d. Plan to limit strictly the time spent with the patient because the nurse cannot do much that could be beneficial at this point.
Which of the following should not be taken with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor?
1. Aged blue cheese 2. Grapefruit 3. Alcohol 4. Green leafy vegetables
The nurse is caring for a patient with a plaster splint applied to the ankle. The patient received oral pain medication at 0900. At 1100, the patient reports that the pain is getting worse, not better. What is the nurse's priority action?
a) Give the patient IV pain medication. b) Reposition the extremity on a pillow and place an ice pack. c) Assess the pulses and skin temperature distal to the splint. d) Call the physician to report the patient's increasing pain.