Nokea
The nurse is reviewing the diagnostic test findings of a client with rheumatoid arthritis. What would the nurse expect to find?
- A. Increased red blood cell count
- B. Increased C4 complement
- C. Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate
- D. Increased albumin levels
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) may be elevated, particularly as the disease progresses. ESR shows inflammation associated with RA. Red blood cell count and C4 complement component are decreased. Serum protein electrophoresis may disclose increased levels of gamma and alpha globulin but decreased albumin.
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A client has been diagnosed with temporomandibular disorder and has not been able to eat. What is an appropriate action for the nurse to take?
- A. Have the client's food pureed
- B. Have the client placed on a liquid diet.
- C. Have the client eat soft rather than coarse food.
- D. Give the client clear liquids as well as intravenous fluids.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The nurse modifies the diet to include soft rather than coarse food, which is easier to chew. The nurse also provides nutritional liquid supplements and assists the client to acquire skills that control pain, such as using a bite guard during sleep. The client does not require pureed food or clear liquids. Pureed and clear liquids are not warranted because these are too extreme and may interfere with nutrition.
The nurse is assisting a client with removing shoes prior to an examination and observes that the client has a flexion deformity of several toes on both feet of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints. What can the nurse encourage the client to do?
- A. Bind the toes so that they will straighten.
- B. Do active range of motion on the toes.
- C. Have surgery to fix them.
- D. Wear properly fitting shoes.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Hammer toe is a flexion deformity of the PIP joint and may involve several toes and may result from wearing poorly fitting shoes. They will not straighten by binding the toes or doing active range of motion exercises. Surgery is an option but should be discussed with an orthopedic surgeon or podiatrist.
A client with ankylosing spondylitis has a stooped position and is being positioned in the bed prior to the nurse taking vital signs. The nurse listens to the client's lungs after positioning. What finding related to the client's condition may the nurse hear when listening to lung sounds?
- A. Crackles in the bases
- B. Pericardial friction rub
- C. Lung sounds may be diminished in the apical area.
- D. Rhonchi
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Lung sounds may be reduced, especially in the apical area. The nurse would not hear rhonchi, crackles, or a pericardial friction rub unless the client had underlying cardiac or respiratory disorders.
The nurse is planning care in the home for a client with rheumatoid arthritis. What instruction(s) should the nurse include in the plan of care? Select all that apply.
- A. Collaborate with occupational therapists for specialized equipment.
- B. Identify the exercise regimen planned by physical therapist.
- C. Provide nursing assistance for ADLs.
- D. Teach the nursing assistant to allow extra time in the evening for hygiene or other procedures.
- E. Ensure the home environment is safe.
Correct Answer: A,B,C,E
Rationale: The nurse should collaborate with occupational therapists for specialized equipment, identify the exercise regimen planned by physical therapist, provide nursing assistance for ADLs, and ensure the home environment is safe. The nurse should teach the nursing assistant to allow extra time in the morning, not the evening, for hygiene or other procedures.
A client is experiencing symptoms that are suspected to be related to systemic lupus erythematosus. What cutaneous symptom occurs in about 50% of clients affected by this disease?
- A. Diffuse purplish lesions on the trunk
- B. Butterfly-shaped rash on the face over the bridge of the nose and cheeks
- C. Fluid-filled vesicles clustered on the cheeks, chin, and forehead
- D. Pustules scattered on the chest and back
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A prominent sign for about half of the clients with SLE is a red, butterfly-shaped rash known as malar rash, on the face over the bridge of the nose and the cheeks. The word lupus means 'wolf.' The term may have been used as a description for the facial rash that, to some, resembled the mask of reddish-brown fur on a wolf. The other choices are not routinely seen with SLE.