Nursing Elites

1. A nurse is caring for a client who has just returned from the operating room following the creation of a colostomy. The nurse is assessing the drainage in the pouch attached to the site where the colostomy was formed and notes serosanguineous drainage. Which nursing action is most appropriate based on this assessment?

• A. Notify the physician
• B. Document the amount and characteristics of the drainage
• C. Apply ice to the stoma site
• D. Apply pressure to the site

Correct answer: B

Rationale: During the first 24 to 72 hours following surgery, mucus and serosanguineous drainage are expected from the stoma. Documenting the amount and characteristics of the drainage is appropriate. The nurse does not need to notify the physician because this is an expected finding. Applying ice or pressure to the site is not necessary.

2. After a subtotal gastrectomy, the nurse should anticipate that nasogastric tube drainage will be what color for about 12 to 24 hours after surgery?

• A. Dark brown
• B. Bile green
• C. Bright red
• D. Cloudy white

Correct answer: A

Rationale: Dark brown drainage is expected for about 12 to 24 hours after surgery.

3. The client has been admitted with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. The nurse would assess this client for pain that is:

• A. Severe and unrelenting, located in the epigastric area and radiating to the back.
• B. Severe and unrelenting, located in the left lower quadrant and radiating to the groin.
• C. Burning and aching, located in the epigastric area and radiating to the umbilicus.
• D. Burning and aching, located in the left lower quadrant and radiating to the hip.

Correct answer: A

Rationale: Acute pancreatitis typically presents with severe, unrelenting pain in the epigastric area that radiates to the back. This pain is due to inflammation and autodigestion of the pancreas.

4. The client with a colostomy has an order for irrigation of the colostomy. The nurse uses which solution for the irrigation?

• A. Distilled water
• B. Tap water
• C. Sterile water
• D. Lactated Ringer’s

Correct answer: B

Rationale: The correct solution to use for the irrigation of a colostomy is warm tap water or saline solution. If tap water is not suitable for drinking, bottled water can be used. Distilled water, sterile water, and Lactated Ringer’s are not appropriate solutions for colostomy irrigation. Distilled water lacks essential minerals, sterile water may not provide adequate cleaning, and Lactated Ringer’s is not indicated for this procedure.

5. The nurse is doing preoperative teaching with the client who is about to undergo creation of a Kock pouch. The nurse interprets that the client has the best understanding of the nature of the surgery if the client makes which of the following statements?

• A. I will need to drain the pouch regularly with a catheter.
• B. I will need to wear a drainage bag for the rest of my life.
• C. The drainage from this type of ostomy will be formed.
• D. I will be able to pass stool from the rectum eventually.

Correct answer: A

Rationale: A Kock pouch is a continent ileostomy. As the ileostomy begins to function, the client drains it every 3 to 4 hours and then decreases the draining about 3 times a day or as needed when full. The client does not need to wear a drainage bag but should wear an absorbent dressing to absorb mucous drainage from the stoma. Ileostomy drainage is liquid. The client would be able to pass stool only from the rectum if an ileal-anal pouch or anastomosis were created. This type of operation is a two-stage procedure.

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