The nurse is having difficulty determining with accuracy the extent of the deficits of a patient with an acute spinal cord injury. The reason for the inability to determine the extent of deficits is because of
1. influx of sodium ions.
2. associated hypotension.
3. concurrent hypovolemia.
4. spinal cord edema.
4
Rationale: In a spinal cord injury, as the cord swells within the bony vertebrae, edema moves up and down the cord. A patient may exhibit symptoms as a result of the edema and not the initial injury. Because edema can extend the level of injury for several cord segments above and below the affected level, the extent of injury may not be determined for several days, until after the cord edema has resolved. The inability to determine the extent of the patient's deficits is not because of an influx of sodium ions, hypotension, or hypovolemia.
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