ATI Capstone Adult Medical Surgical Assessment 1 Related

Review ATI Capstone Adult Medical Surgical Assessment 1 related questions and content

A nurse in an emergency department is caring for a client who has sustained multiple injuries. The nurse observes the client's thorax moving inward during inspiration and outward during expiration. The nurse should suspect which of the following injuries?

  • A. Flail chest
  • B. Hemothorax
  • C. Pulmonary contusion
  • D. Pneumothorax
Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Flail chest. Flail chest results from multiple rib fractures, causing paradoxical chest movement where the injured part moves inward during inspiration and outward during expiration, interfering with ventilation. Choice B, Hemothorax, involves blood in the pleural cavity and does not typically cause paradoxical chest movement. Choice C, Pulmonary contusion, is a bruise to the lung tissue and does not present with paradoxical chest movement. Choice D, Pneumothorax, is the presence of air in the pleural space, leading to lung collapse, but it does not demonstrate paradoxical chest movement like in flail chest.