A patient tells the nurse that he is upset because his surgical wound is infected and everyone else that he knows who had the same surgery did not have the same problem. Which of the following can the nurse respond with to this patient?

Question

1. How or why a person develops a wound infection depends upon many things such as basic health of the person, age, gender, and the organism the body is fighting.
2. There really is nothing that could be done to prevent it.
3. Maybe they did have the same problem but did not tell you.
4. At least you are in the hospital when the infection started and not at home.

Answer 1

1

Rationale: How endothelial cells respond to alterations in the environment differ, according to the host genetics, age, gender, nature of the pathogen, and location of the vascular bed. The nurse should explain to the patient that the development of a wound infection depends upon such things as basic health of the person, age, gender, and the invading organism. The nurse should not tell the patient that there is nothing that can be done to prevent it. The nurse should also not respond that others may have had the same problem but did not inform the patient. Being in the hospital instead of home when the infection developed is also not an appropriate response.