Med-Surg Final Exam Questions and Correct Answers 2024 Latest | Verified.

Med-Surg Final Exam Questions and Correct Answers 2024 Latest | Verified. The nurse assesses a patient's surgical wound on the first postoperative day and notes redness and warmth around the incision. Which action by the nurse is appropriate? a. Obtain wound cultures. b. Document the assessment. c. Notify the health care provider. d. Assess the wound every 2 hours. - ANSWERS-ANS: B The incisional redness and warmth are indicators of the normal initial (inflammatory) stage of wound healing by primary intention. The nurse should document the wound appearance and continue to monitor the wound. A patient with an open leg lesion has a white blood cell (WBC) count of 13,500/μL and a band count of 11%. What prescribed action should the nurse take first? a. Obtain cultures of the wound. b. Begin antibiotic administration. c. Continue to monitor the wound for drainage. d. Redress the wound with wet-to-dry dressings. - ANSWERS-ANS: A The increase in WBC count with the increased bands (shift to the left) indicates that the patient probably has a bacterial infection, and the nurse should obtain wound cultures. A patient with a systemic bacterial infection feels cold and has a shaking chill. Which assessment finding will the nurse expect next? a. Skin flushing b. Muscle cramps c. Rising body temperature d. Decreasing blood pressure - ANSWERS-ANS: C The patient's complaints of feeling cold and shivering indicate that the hypothalamic set point for temperature has been increased and the temperature is increasing. A young adult patient who is receiving antibiotics for an infected leg wound has a temperature of 101.8° F (38.7° C) The patient reports having no discomfort. Which action by the nurse is appropriate? a. Apply a cooling blanket. b. Notify the health care provider. c. Check the patient's temperature again in 4 hours. d. Give acetaminophen (Tylenol) prescribed PRN for pain. - ANSWERS-ANS: C Med-Surg Final Exam Questions and Correct Answers 2024 Latest | Verified. Mild to moderate temperature elevations (103° F) do not harm young adult patients and may benefit host defense mechanisms. The nurse should continue to monitor the temperature. A patient's 4 3-cm leg wound has a 0.4-cm black area in the center of the wound surrounded by yellow-green semiliquid material. Which dressing should the nurse apply to the wound? a. Dry gauze dressing b. Nonadherent dressing c. Hydrocolloid dressing d. Transparent film dressing - ANSWERS-ANS: C The wound requires debridement of the necrotic areas and absorption of the yellowgreen slough. A hydrocolloid dressing such as DuoDerm would accomplish these goals The nurse notes that a patient's open abdominal wound widens as it extends deeper into the abdomen. How would the nurse document this characteristic? a. Eschar b. Slough c. Maceration d. Undermining - ANSWERS-ANS: D Undermining is evident when a cotton-tipped applicator is placed in the wound and there is a narrower "lip" around the wound, which widens as the wound deepens. Eschar is a crusted cover over a wound. Slough and maceration refer to loosening friable tissue. A patient with rheumatoid arthritis has been taking oral corticosteroids for 2 years. Which nursing action is most likely to detect early signs of infection in this patient? a. Monitor white blood cell counts. b. Check the skin for areas of redness. c. Measure the temperature every 2 hours. d. Ask about feelings of fatigue or malaise. - ANSWERS-ANS: D The earliest manifestation of an infection may be "just not feeling well." Common clinical manifestations of inflammation and infection are frequently not present when patients receive immunosuppressive medications. The nurse should plan to use a wet-to-dry dressing for which patient? a. A patient who has a pressure ulcer with pink granulation tissue b. A patient who has a surgical incision with pink, approximated edges c. A patient who has a full-thickness burn filled with dry, black material d. A patient who has a wound with purulent drainage and dry brown areas - ANSWERSANS: D Wet-to-dry dressings are used when there is minimal eschar to be removed. A fullthickness wound filled with eschar will require interventions such as surgical debridement to remove the necrotic tissue. Wet-to-dry dressings are not needed on approximated surgical incisions. Wet-to-dry dressings are not used on uninfected granulating wounds because of the damage to the granulation tissue. A patient from a long-term care facility is admitted to the hospital with a sacral pressure ulcer. The base of the wound involves subcutaneous tissue. How should the nurse classify this pressure ulcer? a. Stage I b. Stage II c. Stage III d. Stage IV - ANSWERS-ANS: C A stage III pressure ulcer has full-thickness skin damage and extends into the subcutaneous tissue. A stage I pressure ulcer has intact skin with some observable damage such as redness or a boggy feel. Stage II pressure ulcers have partialthickness skin loss. Stage IV pressure ulcers have full-thickness damage with tissue necrosis, extensive damage, or damage to bone, muscle, or supporting tissues. A young male patient with paraplegia has a stage II sacral pressure ulcer and is being cared for at home by his family. To prevent further tissue damage, what instructions are most important for the nurse to teach the patient and family? a. Change the patient's bedding frequently. b. Apply a hydrocolloid dressing over the ulcer. c. Change the patient's position every 1 to 2 hours. d. Record the size and appearance of the ulcer weekly. - ANSWERS-ANS: C The most important intervention is to avoid prolonged pressure on bony prominences by frequent repositioning. The other interventions may also be included in family teaching. The nurse will perform which action when doing a wet-to-dry dressing change on a patient's stage III sacral pressure ulcer? a. Administer prescribed PRN hydrocodone 30 minutes before the change. b. Pour sterile saline onto the new dry dressings after the wound has been packed. c. Apply antimicrobial ointment before repacking the wound with moist dressings. d. Soak the old dressings with sterile saline 30 minutes before the dressing change - ANSWERS-ANS: A Mechanical debridement with wet-to-dry dressings is painful, and patients should receive pain medications before the dressing change begins. The new dressings are moistened with saline before being applied to the wound but not soaked after packing. Soaking the old dressings before removing them will eliminate the wound debridement that is the purpose of this type of dressing. Application of antimicrobial ointments is not indicated for a wet-to-dry dressing. A new nurse performs a dressing change on a stage II left heel pressure ulcer. Which action by the new nurse indicates a need for further teaching about pressure ulcer care? a. The new nurse cleans the ulcer with half-strength peroxide. b. The new nurse uses a hydrocolloid dressing (DuoDerm)on the ulcer. c. The new nurse irrigates the pressure ulcer with saline using a 30-mL syringe. d. The new nurse inserts a sterile cotton-tipped applicator into the pressure ulcer. - ANSWERS-ANS: A Pressure ulcers should not be cleaned with solutions that are cytotoxic, such as hydrogen peroxide. The other actions by the new nurse are appropriate. A patient arrives in the emergency department with a swollen ankle after a soccer injury. Which action by the nurse is appropriate? a. Elevate the ankle above heart level. b. Apply a warm moist pack to the ankle. c. Ask the patient to try bearing weight on the ankle. d. Assess the ankle's passive range of motion (ROM). - ANSWERS-ANS: A Soft tissue injuries are treated with rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE). Elevation of the ankle will decrease tissue swelling. Moving the ankle through the ROM will increase swelling and risk further injury. Cold packs should be applied the first 24 hours to reduce swelling. The nurse should not ask the patient to move or bear weight on the swollen ankle because immobilization of the inflamed or injured area promotes healing by decreasing metabolic needs of the tissues. When admitting a patient with stage III pressure ulcers on both heels, which information obtained by the nurse will have the most impact on wound healing? a. The patient has had the heel ulcers for 6 months. b. The patient takes oral hypoglycemic agents daily. c. The patient states that the ulcers are very painful. d. The patient has several incisions that formed keloids. - ANSWERS-ANS: B The use of oral hypoglycemics indicates diabetes, which can interfere with wound healing. The persistence of the ulcers over the past 6 months is a concern, but changes in care may be effective in promoting healing. Keloids are not disabling or painful, although the cosmetic effects may be distressing for some patients.