A patient with Buck's traction complains of increased pain after the traction is applied and pain medication is given
After loosening the traction slightly, the nurse assesses the extremity and can find nothing wrong, although the patient is still complaining of pain at a level of 4 on a scale of 0 to 10 . What action should the nurse initiate next? a. Notify the healthcare provider.
b. Administer additional pain medication.
c. Explain that an x-ray film of the leg might be taken.
d. Have the patient describe the pain in de-tail.
A
Once pain medication is given and the traction is loosened, the healthcare provider must be noti-fied because of the chance of a neurovascular deficit. Administering additional pain medication is inappropriate since it may mask the problem. The need for an x-ray film is up to the healthcare provider to explore with the patient; speculating is inappropriate. If the patient is still experienc-ing pain, the healthcare provider needs to be called, regardless of the description of the pain.
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