A client is receiving pain medications as needed. Which of the following interventions are important following the administration of pain medication? (Select all that apply)
Reassess pain score.
Assess the surgical site.
Reassess vital signs.
Assess for bowel sounds.
Assess level of consciousness.
Correct Answer : A,C,E
Choice A reason: Reassessing the pain score is critical to evaluate the medication’s effectiveness. Pain is subjective, and reassessment using a numerical scale (e.g., 0-10) quantifies relief, guiding further dosing or alternative interventions. This ensures adequate pain control, optimizing patient comfort and recovery.
Choice B reason: Assessing the surgical site is important for monitoring complications like infection or bleeding but is not directly related to pain medication administration. Pain relief does not typically alter surgical site appearance, making this assessment less immediate compared to pain or systemic effects of analgesics.
Choice C reason: Reassessing vital signs is essential as pain medications, especially opioids, can cause respiratory depression, hypotension, or bradycardia. Monitoring heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate ensures patient safety, detecting adverse effects early to prevent complications like hypoxia or cardiovascular instability.
Choice D reason: Assessing bowel sounds is relevant for long-term opioid use due to risks of constipation, but it’s not an immediate post-administration priority. Pain medications’ acute effects primarily involve pain relief and systemic responses, not gastrointestinal motility, making this less critical in the immediate post-dose period.
Choice E reason: Assessing level of consciousness is crucial as pain medications, particularly opioids, can cause sedation or altered mental status. Monitoring alertness ensures patient safety, detecting overdose or adverse reactions early, which could lead to respiratory depression or other life-threatening complications if unaddressed.
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Related Questions
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Preventing bathroom interruptions is not the primary rationale. While convenient, indwelling catheters are used for clinical reasons like monitoring or preventing complications. This rationale overlooks the physiological effects of surgery and anesthesia, which are more critical for catheter use in abdominal procedures.
Choice B reason: Checking patency post-surgery is not the primary reason for intraoperative catheter placement. While catheters monitor urine output, the main goal is to manage bladder function during and immediately after surgery, when anesthesia and surgical manipulation increase retention risks, not just patency.
Choice C reason: Anesthetics, especially general or spinal, reduce detrusor muscle contractility, impairing bladder emptying. This increases urinary retention risk during and post-surgery. An indwelling catheter ensures continuous drainage, preventing bladder overdistention, discomfort, or complications like urinary tract infections or bladder injury.
Choice D reason: Uncontrolled voiding during surgery is unlikely under anesthesia, which suppresses bladder reflexes. While catheters prevent intraoperative bladder filling, the primary concern is retention from anesthetic effects, not involuntary voiding, making this rationale less accurate for catheter use.
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
Choice A reason: Visceral pain arises from internal organs, like the stomach, and is often described as burning, diffuse, or radiating, as the patient reports. It results from organ distension, inflammation, or ischemia, matching the described gastric, circular pain pattern.
Choice B reason: Chronic pain persists beyond 3 months and is not defined by location or quality. The patient’s 3-day pain is acute, not chronic, and the description aligns with visceral pain, not a chronic condition.
Choice C reason: Idiopathic pain has no identifiable cause. The patient’s pain, localized to the stomach with a burning, radiating quality, suggests a visceral origin (e.g., gastritis), making idiopathic an incorrect classification.
Choice D reason: Superficial pain originates from skin or mucous membranes, described as sharp or localized. The patient’s deep, burning, and radiating gastric pain is characteristic of visceral pain, not superficial pain.
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