A 52-year-old male who has alcohol use disorder presents with weight gain and tightness in his belly, how would the patient likely appear?

Choice A reason: Inspection, palpation, and auscultation is incorrect, as palpation before auscultation can alter bowel sounds by stimulating peristalsis. Abdominal assessment requires auscultation first to capture natural bowel activity, followed by palpation to avoid disrupting the acoustic findings critical for diagnosing conditions like obstruction.

Choice B reason: Inspection, auscultation, and palpation is the correct sequence for abdominal assessment. Inspection identifies visible abnormalities, auscultation captures unaltered bowel sounds, and palpation assesses tenderness or masses. This order prevents palpation from affecting auscultatory findings, ensuring accurate evaluation of gastrointestinal function and potential pathologies.

Choice C reason: Auscultation, inspection, and palpation disrupts the logical flow of abdominal assessment. Inspection should precede auscultation to note visible abnormalities that may guide listening. Starting with auscultation risks missing contextual visual cues, reducing the effectiveness of the assessment and potentially overlooking critical signs.

Choice D reason: Palpation, auscultation, and inspection is incorrect, as palpation first can stimulate or suppress bowel sounds, skewing auscultation results. Inspection must initiate the process to identify visible issues, followed by auscultation and palpation, to maintain accuracy in assessing abdominal conditions like peritonitis or organ enlargement.

Choice A reason: Pain rating is considered a subjective vital sign, assessed via patient self-reporting, often on a 0-10 scale. It reflects neurological and emotional status, guiding pain management. Including it as a vital sign is a valid clinical practice, making this choice a correct use.

Choice B reason: In less stable clients, vital signs should be checked more frequently than once daily, often every few hours, to monitor deteriorating conditions like sepsis or shock. This statement inaccurately suggests infrequent monitoring, which is not a standard use of vital signs, making it the correct answer.

Choice C reason: Vital signs assess circulatory (blood pressure, pulse), respiratory (respirations, pulse oximetry), neurological (via pulse and responsiveness), and endocrine (temperature) systems. They provide critical data on physiological function, making this a valid use of vital signs in comprehensive health assessments.

Choice D reason: Vital signs include temperature, pulse, respirations, blood pressure, and pulse oximetry, which measure thermoregulation, cardiovascular, and respiratory status. This is a standard definition in clinical practice, accurately reflecting the components of vital sign assessment, making it a correct use.