The nurse is planning care for a school-age child with bacterial meningitis. What intervention should be included?
a. Keep environmental stimuli to a minimum.
b. Have the child move her head from side to side at least every 2 hours.
c. Avoid giving pain medications that could dull sensorium.
d. Measure head circumference to assess developing complications.
ANS: A
The room is kept as quiet as possible and environmental stimuli are kept to a minimum. Most children with meningitis are sensitive to noise, bright lights, and other external stimuli. The nuchal rigidity associated with meningitis would make moving the head from side to side a painful intervention. If pain is present, the child should be treated appropriately. Failure to treat can cause increased intracranial pressure. In this age group, the head circumference does not change. Signs of increased intracranial pressure would need to be assessed.
You might also like to view...
The infection control nurse is discussing the chain of infection with a group of colleagues. She notes that the source of infection is also known as the:
1. Reservoir 2. Carrier 3. Etiologic agent 4. Portal of exit 5.
The nurse caring for clients with gastrointestinal disorders should understand that which category best describes the mechanism of action of sucralfate (Carafate)?
a. Gastric acid inhibitor b. Histamine receptor blocker c. Mucosal barrier fortifier d. Proton pump inhibitor
A client, age 8, has just been prescribed pemoline (Cylert). The child's parents ask about the long-term effects of this medication
The nurse conducting patient teaching for the parents about this medication will include which of the following statements? 1. "Photosensitivity is a problem with long-term use." 2. "This is one of the drugs found to be safe for long-term use." 3. "At the present time, there is limited information about this." 4. "There seems to be a better outcome when the higher dose is given at bedtime."
After ingesting a large amount of narcotics, a client has a respiratory rate of 8 per minute. Which acid-base disturbance is the client at risk for developing?
1. Respiratory acidosis 3. Metabolic acidosis 2. Respiratory alkalosis 4. Metabolic alkalosis