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A patient with leukemia has developed stomatitis and is experiencing a nutritional deficit. An oral anesthetic has consequently been prescribed. What health education should the nurse provide to the patient?
- A. Chew with care to avoid inadvertently biting the tongue.
- B. Use the oral anesthetic 1 hour prior to meal time.
- C. Brush teeth before and after eating.
- D. Swallow slowly and deliberately.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: If oral anesthetics are used, the patient must be warned to chew with extreme care to avoid inadvertently biting the tongue or buccal mucosa. An oral anesthetic would be metabolized by the time the patient eats if it is used 1 hour prior to meals. There is no specific need to warn the patient about brushing teeth or swallowing slowly because an oral anesthetic has been used.
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An adult patient has presented to the health clinic with a complaint of a firm, painless cervical lymph node. The patient denies any recent infectious diseases. What is the nurses most appropriate response to the patients complaint?
- A. Call 911.
- B. Promptly refer the patient for medical assessment.
- C. Facilitate a radiograph of the patients neck and have the results forwarded to the patients primary care provider.
- D. Encourage the patient to track the size of the lymph node and seek care in 1 week.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Hodgkin lymphoma usually begins as an enlargement of one or more lymph nodes on one side of the neck. The individual nodes are painless and firm but not hard. Prompt medical assessment is necessary if a patient has this presentation. However, there is no acute need to call 911. Delaying care for 1 week could have serious consequences and x-rays are not among the common diagnostic tests.
A nursing student is caring for a patient with acute myeloid leukemia who is preparing to undergo induction therapy. In preparing a plan of care for this patient, the student should assign the highest priority to which nursing diagnoses?
- A. Activity Intolerance
- B. Risk for Infection
- C. Acute Confusion
- D. Risk for Spiritual Distress
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Induction therapy places the patient at risk for infection, thus this is the priority nursing diagnosis. During the time of induction therapy, the patient is very ill, with bacterial, fungal, and occasional viral infections; bleeding and severe mucositis, which causes diarrhea; and marked decline in the ability to maintain adequate nutrition. Supportive care consists of administering blood products and promptly treating infections. Immobility, confusion, and spiritual distress are possible, but infection is the patients most acute physiologic threat.
A nurse at a long-term care facility is amending the care plan of a resident who has just been diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia (ET). The nurse should anticipate the administration of what medication?
- A. Dalteparin
- B. Allopurinol
- C. Hydroxyurea
- D. Hydrochlorothiazide
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Hydroxyurea is effective in lowering the platelet count for patients with ET. Dalteparin, allopurinol, and HCTZ do not have this therapeutic effect.
After receiving a diagnosis of acute lymphocytic leukemia, a patient is visibly distraught, stating, I have no idea where to go from here. How should the nurse prepare to meet this patients psychosocial needs?
- A. Assess the patients previous experience with the health care system.
- B. Reassure the patient that treatment will be challenging but successful.
- C. Assess the patients specific needs for education and support.
- D. Identify the patients plan of medical care.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: In order to meet the patients needs, the nurse must first identify the specific nature of these needs. According to the nursing process, assessment must precede interventions. The plan of medical care is important, but not central to the provision of support. The patients previous health care is not a primary consideration, and the nurse cannot assure the patient of successful treatment.
A nurse is caring for a patient who has been diagnosed with leukemia. The nurses most recent assessment reveals the presence of ecchymoses on the patients sacral area and petechiae in her forearms. In addition to informing the patients primary care provider, the nurse should perform what action?
- A. Initiate measures to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE).
- B. Check the patients most recent platelet level.
- C. Place the patient on protective isolation.
- D. Ambulate the patient to promote circulatory function.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The patients signs are suggestive of thrombocytopenia, thus the nurse should check the patients most recent platelet level. VTE is not a risk and this does not constitute a need for isolation. Ambulation and activity may be contraindicated due to the risk of bleeding.