A patient who has AIDS is being treated in the hospital and admits to having periods of extreme anxiety. What would be the most appropriate nursing intervention?
- A. Teach the patient guided imagery.
- B. Give the patient more control of her antiretroviral regimen.
- C. Increase the patients activity level.
- D. Collaborate with the patients physician to obtain an order for hydromorphone.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Measures such as relaxation and guided imagery may be beneficial because they decrease anxiety, which contributes to weakness and fatigue. Increased activity may be of benefit, but for other patients this may exacerbate feelings of anxiety or loss. Granting the patient control has the potential to reduce anxiety, but the patient is not normally given unilateral control of the ART regimen. Hydromorphone is not used to treat anxiety.
You may also like to solve these questions
A clinic nurse is caring for a patient admitted with AIDS. The nurse has assessed that the patient is experiencing a progressive decline in cognitive, behavioral, and motor functions. The nurse recognizes that these symptoms are most likely related to the onset of what complication?
- A. HIV encephalopathy
- B. B-cell lymphoma
- C. Kaposis sarcoma
- D. Wasting syndrome
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: HIV encephalopathy is a clinical syndrome characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive, behavioral, and motor functions. The other listed complications do not normally have cognitive and behavioral manifestations.
A patients primary infection with HIV has subsided and an equilibrium now exists between HIV levels and the patients immune response. This physiologic state is known as which of the following?
- A. Static stage
- B. Latent stage
- C. Viral set point
- D. Window period
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The remaining amount of virus in the body after primary infection is referred to as the viral set point, which results in a steady state of infection that lasts for years. This is not known as the static or latent stage. The window period is the time a person infected with HIV tests negative even though he or she is infected.
A patient has been diagnosed with AIDS complicated by chronic diarrhea. What nursing intervention would be appropriate for this patient?
- A. Position the patient in the high Fowlers position whenever possible.
- B. Temporarily eliminate animal protein from the patients diet.
- C. Make sure the patient eats at least two servings of raw fruit each day.
- D. Obtain a stool culture to identify possible pathogens.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: A stool culture should be obtained to determine the possible presence of microorganisms that cause diarrhea. Patients should generally avoid raw fruit when having diarrhea. There is no need to avoid animal protein or increase the height of the patients bed.
The nurses plan of care for a patient with stage 3 HIV addresses the diagnosis of Risk for Impaired Skin Integrity Related to Candidiasis. What nursing intervention best addresses this risk?
- A. Providing thorough oral care before and after meals
- B. Administering prophylactic antibiotics
- C. Promoting nutrition and adequate fluid intake
- D. Applying skin emollients as needed
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Thorough mouth care has the potential to prevent or limit the severity of this infection. Antibiotics are irrelevant because of the fungal etiology. The patient requires adequate food and fluids, but these do not necessarily prevent candidiasis. Skin emollients are not appropriate because candidiasis is usually oral.
A patient was tested for HIV using enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and results were positive. The nurse should expect the primary care provider to order what test to confirm the EIA test results?
- A. Another EIA test
- B. Viral load test
- C. Western blot test
- D. CD4/CD8 ratio
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The Western blot test detects antibodies to HIV and is used to confirm the EIA test results. The viral load test measures HIV RNA in the plasma and is not used to confirm EIA test results, but instead to track the progression of the disease process. The CD4/CD8 ratio test evaluates the ratio of CD4 and CD8 cells but is not used to confirm results of EIA testing.
Nokea