A home health nurse is providing teaching to the family of a client who has a seizure disorder

A nurse is teaching a client who has myopia about laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery. The nurse should include in the teaching that which of the following is an adverse effect of LASIK surgery?

Dry eyes

Rationale: LASIK surgery is a procedure that can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism by changing the shape of the cornea. Adverse effects of LASIK surgery include dryness of the eyes and blurred vision.

A nurse in a rehabilitation center is performing an assessment for a client who is recovering from a left-hemisphere stroke. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

Difficulty with speech

Rationale: The left hemisphere of the brain is usually the dominant side and is responsible for language. This is always true for right-handed clients and for the majority of left-handed clients. Since this client is recovering from a left-hemisphere stroke, the nurse should anticipate that the client will have aphasia and require speech therapy to establish communication.

A nurse is assessing a client who has a new diagnosis of mastoiditis. Which of the following manifestations should the nurse expect?

Swelling behind the affected ear

Rationale: Mastoiditis refers to an inflammation of the temporal bone behind the ear. Manifestations of mastoiditis include swelling and pain behind the ear.

A nurse is caring for a client who has a traumatic brain injury and assumes a decerebrate posture in response to noxious stimuli. Which of the following reactions should the nurse anticipate when drawing a blood sample?

The client rigidly extends his arms.

Rationale: A client who exhibits a decerebrate posture rigidly extends and pronates his four extremities and externally rotates his wrists. Decerebrate posturing indicates severe brain stem injury and late neurologic decline.

A nurse is providing discharge teaching to a client who is postoperative following cataract surgery and has an intraocular lens implant. Which of the following statements by the client indicates an understanding of the instruction?

I will avoid bending over.

Rationale: The nurse should instruct the client to avoid activities that can increase intraocular pressure, such as lifting, bending, coughing, or performing the Valsalva maneuver. An increase in intraocular pressure can result in intraocular hemorrhage.

A nurse is assessing a client who has a closed head injury and has received mannitol for manifestations of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Which of the following findings should indicate to the nurse that the medication is having a therapeutic effect?

The client's serum osmolarity is 310 mOsm/L.

Rationale: Mannitol is an osmotic diuretic used to reduce cerebral edema by drawing water out of the brain tissue. A serum osmolarity of 310 mOsm/L is desired. A decrease in cerebral edema should result in a decrease in ICP.

A nurse is providing discharge teaching to a client who is postoperative following scleral buckling to repair a detached retina. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the teaching?

You should avoid reading for 1 week.

Rationale: The client should avoid reading and any activity that can cause rapid movement of the eye because of the risk for detachment of the retina.

A nurse is assessing a client who has sustained a recent head injury. Which of the following findings should the nurse recognize as a manifestation of increased intracranial pressure?

Widened pulse pressure

Rationale: A widening of pulse pressure, the difference between the systolic and diastolic pressure, is a manifestation of increased intracranial pressure. Other manifestations include pupil changes, change in the level of consciousness, and nausea and vomiting.

A nurse is providing teaching to a client who has a new diagnosis of migraine headaches about interventions to reduce pain at the onset of a migraine. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the teaching?

Darken the lights.

Rationale: The nurse should instruct the client to lie down in a dark room to reduce migraine pain.

A nurse in an acute care facility is preparing to admit a client who has myasthenia gravis. Which of the following supplies should the nurse place at the client's bedside table?

Oral-nasal suction equipment

Rationale: The client who has myasthenia gravis is at risk for aspiration because of progressive weakness of the oropharyngeal muscles. Myasthenia gravis causes muscle weakness due to an autoimmune disease that affects the acetylcholine receptors. The nurse should place oxygen and oral-nasal suction equipment at the bedside in the event of aspiration or respiratory distress.

A nurse is assessing a client who is unconscious and has a rhythmical breathing pattern of rapid deep respirations, followed by rapid shallow respirations, alternating with periods of apnea. The nurse should document that the client is experiencing which of the following types of respirations?

Cheyne-Stokes

Ratioale: Cheyne-Stokes respirations is a breathing pattern of deep to shallow breaths, followed by a period of apnea. Cheyne-Stokes respirations can be the result of a drug overdose or increased intracranial pressure and can precede death.

A nurse is providing teaching to a client who has a new diagnosis of Meniere's disease. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the teaching?

Avoid sudden movements

Rationale: Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear affecting balance and hearing, characterized by vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus. The nurse should instruct the client to avoid sudden movements that can increase manifestations.

A nurse is teaching a class of new parents about otitis media. Which of the following manifestations should the nurse include in the teaching?

Feeling of fullness in the ear

Rationale: A client who has otitis media can develop a feeling of fullness in the ear. Other manifestations can include ear pain, a cracking sound when yawning or swallowing, and mild dizziness.

A nurse is caring for a client who is postoperative following a frontal craniotomy. The nurse should place the client in which of the following positions?

Semi-Fowler's

Rationale: To prevent an increase in intracranial pressure, the nurse should position the client with his head midline and the head of the bed elevated 30 degrees. This positioning permits blood flow to the client's brain while allowing venous drainage, thereby decreasing the postoperative risk of increased intracranial pressure.

A nurse is providing discharge teaching to the family of a client who has a new diagnosis of a seizure disorder. The nurse should instruct the client's family to take which of the following actions first in the event of a seizure.

Protect the client's head.

Rationale: The nurse should apply the safety and risk reduction priority-setting framework. This framework assigns priority to the factor or situation posing the greatest safety risk to the client. When there are several risks to client safety, the one posing the greatest threat is the highest priority. The nurse should use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the ABC priority-setting framework, or nursing knowledge to identify which risk poses the greatest threat to the client. The client is at greatest risk for injury from hitting his head; therefore the first action is to protect the client's head from injury.

A nurse is reviewing the medical history of a client who is scheduled for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of the cervical vertebra. The nurse should alert the provider to which of the following information in the client's history that is a contraindication to the procedure.

The client has a pacemaker.

Rationale: An MRI uses strong magnets and radio waves that are evaluated using computer technology to view three-dimensional images of the body. Since an MRI is magnetically generated, it is not indicated for use in the presence of certain medical implants. Client who have cerebral aneurysm clips, cardiac pacemakers, or internal defibrillators cannot undergo an MRI because the strong magnetic force can interfere with the devices and obscure surrounding anatomical structures.

A nurse is assessing a client who has a high-thoracic spinal cord injury. The nurse should identify which of the following findings as a manifestation of autonomic dysreflexia?

Report of a headache

Rationale: Autonomic dysreflexia is a neurologic emergency that can occur in clients who have a cervical or thoracic spinal cord injury above the level of T6. Autonomic dysreflexia can be triggered by a full bladder or distended rectum. Manifestations include a severe throbbing headache; flushing of the face and neck; bradycardia; and extreme hypertension.

A nurse in a clinic is providing teaching to an adolescent client who has recurrent external otitis. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the teaching?

Instill a diluted alcohol solution into the ear after swimming.

Rationale: External otitis is an inflammation of the external auditory canal often due to the retention of water in the ear from swimming. After the inflammation is gone, the client can prevent recurrence of external otitis by instilling diluted alcohol drops to decrease bacteria and dry the external ear canal.

A nurse is providing teaching to the family of a client who has a new diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The nurse should include in the teaching that which of the following findings is an early manifestations of ALS?

Weakness of the distal extremities

Rationale: ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that involves the motor nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord causing muscle wasting, spasticity, and eventually paralysis. Early manifestations of ALS include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the distal arms and legs (hands and feet), speech, swallowing, and breathing.

A nurse is providing teaching to the partner of a client who has a new diagnosis of Parkinson's disease about degenerative complications. The nurse should include in the teaching that which of the following manifestations is the priority?

Dysphagia

Rationale: The nurse should apply the ABC priority-setting framework. This framework emphasizes the basic core of human functioning, which is having an open airway, being able to breathe in adequate amounts of oxygen, and circulating oxygen to the body's organs via the blood. An alteration in any of these can indicate a threat to life and should be the nurse's priority concern. When applying the ABC priority-setting framework, the airway is the nurse's priority concern. When applying the ABC priority-setting framework, the airway is the priority because it must be clear and open for oxygen exchange to occur. Breathing is the second priority in the ABC priority-setting framework because adequate ventilatory effort is essential for oxygen exchange to occur. Circulation is the third priority in the ABC priority-setting framework because delivery of oxygen to critical organs only occurs if the heart and blood vessels are capable of efficiently carrying oxygen to them. Therefore, dysphagia is the priority manifestation because it can lead to aspiration.

A nurse is assessing a client who has a new diagnosis of acute angle-closure glaucoma. The nurse should anticipate the client to report which of the following manifestations?

Severe eye pain

Rationale: Severe eye pain is a manifestation of acute angle-closure glaucoma. Other manifestations can include report of halos around lights, blurred vision, headache, brown pain, and nausea and vomiting.

A nurse is reviewing the laboratory results of a lumbar puncture (LP) for a client who has manifestations of bacterial meningitis. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

Elevated protein

Rationale: An LP is a diagnostic test in which cerebrospinal fluid is extracted for examination. Manifestations of bacterial meningitis include an increase of protein in the cerebrospinal fluid.

A nurse is performing a neurologic assessment for a client who has a brain tumor. Which of the following findings should indicate to the nurse cranial nerve involvement?

Dysphagia

Rationale: Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, can occur as a result of damage to cranial nerves IX (glossopharyngeal) or V (vagus).

A nurse is teaching a client who has a new diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching? (Select all that apply.)

Driving can be dangerous due to loss of peripheral vision. Laser surgery can help reestablish the flow of aqueous humor.

Rationale: Damage to the optic nerve that occurs secondary to increased intraocular pressure causes a decrease in peripheral vision and can cause complete vision loss if not treated. Laser surgery can reopen the trabecular meshwork and widen the Canal of Schlemm.

A nurse is assessing a client who is admitted to the facility for observation following a closed head injury. Which of the following is the priority assessment data the nurse should collect to determine a change in the client's neurologic status?

Level of consciousness

Rationale: The nurse should apply the urgent v. nonurgent priority-setting framework. Using this framework, the nurse should consider urgent needs the priority because they pose more of a risk to the client. The nurse might also use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the ABC priority-setting framework, or nursing knowledge to identify the most urgent finding. Therefore, the priority assessment is level of consciousness can be the first indication of a change in neurologic status.

A nurse is teaching a client who has a new diagnosis of simple partial seizures about aura. Which of the following statements by the client indicates an understanding of the teaching?

An aura is a sensory warning that a seizure is imminent.

Rationale: An aura is a sensory warning that a seizure is imminent. The aura can be similar to a hallucination and involve any of the senses. The client can report hearing bells, seeing lights, or smelling an odor.

A nurse is assessing a client who is postoperative following a craniotomy and has a urine output of 600 mL/hr. The nurse suspects the client has manifestations of diabetes insipidus (DI). Which of the following laboratory values should the nurse plan to obtain to assess for DI?

Specific gravity

Rationale: Diabetes insipidus is caused by damage to the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland as a result of cranial surgery, infection, or a tumor. It is a condition in which an inadequate amount of antidiuretic hormone is released an results in polyuria. A low specific gravity (1.001 to 1.003) is a manifestation of diabetes insipidus.

A nurse is assessing a client who has Guillain-Barre syndrome. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

Weakness of the lower extremities

Rationale: Guillain-Barre syndrome, also called acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, is an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves. It is characterized by the rapid onset of ascending weakness and paralysis, starting at the lower extremities, and can advance to the upper extremities.

A nurse is providing teaching to a class about transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching?

A TIA can precede an ischemic stroke.

Rationale: TIAs are considered a manifestation of advanced artherosclerotic disease and often precede an ischemic stroke. Manifestations of a TIA include loss of vision in one eye, inability to speak, transient hemiparesis, vertigo, diplopia, numbness, and weakness.

A nurse is providing teaching to the family of a client who has stage II Alzheimer's disease (AD). Which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching?

Limit choices offered to the client.

Rationale: Choices should be limited for the client who has stage II AD to reduce confusion and frustration.