A nurse is removing sutures from the surgical wound of a patient after an appendectomy and notices that the sutures are encrusted with blood and difficult to pull out. What would be the appropriate intervention in this situation?
A) Moisten sterile gauze with sterile saline to loosen crusts before removing sutures.
B) Wash the sutures with warm, sterile water and an antimicrobial soap before removing them.
C) Pick the crusts off the sutures with the forceps before removing them.
D) Do not attempt to remove the sutures because they need more time to heal.
A
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During a home visit the nurse learns that an older patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure is experiencing headache, polydipsia, and lethargy
What is the most important assessment that the nurse should make at this time? 1. Measure the patient's latest urine output. 2. Assess the patient's appetite and oral intake. 3. Measure the patient's current capillary blood glucose level. 4. Determine the amount of fluid the patient has ingested over the last few hours.
The new graduate nurse has attended an in-service regarding emergency preparedness for the hospital. The nurse has two small children and lives in a two-story house in the suburbs
After the class, the nurse plans to initiate which action as the most important for family safety? 1. Installing a water purification system in the home. 2. Installing a generator for the house. 3. Obtaining a fire escape ladder for the second floor of the home. 4. Installing deadbolt locks on the doors.
A patient with Parkinson's disease is taking levodopa/carbidopa (Sinemet) and reports occasional periods of loss of drug effect lasting from minutes to several hours
The nurse questions the patient further and discovers that these episodes occur at different times related to the medication administration. The nurse will contact the provider to discuss: a. administering a catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor, such as entacapone. b. adding the DA-releasing agent amantadine to the regimen. c. giving a direct-acting dopamine agonist. d. shortening the dosing interval of levodopa/carbidopa.
The nurse instructs a client on the importance of reducing exposure to infections while pregnant. Which client statement indicates that teaching has been effective?
1. "My genital herpes infection will have no effect on my baby." 2. "Because I have toxoplasmosis, my baby might be born with an abnormally long body." 3. "The rubella infection I experienced in my second trimester may lead me to become deaf." 4. "My baby may develop a serious blood infection because I have group B strep in my vagina."