A patient is on a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.
What type of foods can the patient eat?

Choice A rationale

Listening for bowel sounds for only 1 minute in one area is insufficient to determine their presence or absence accurately. Bowel motility and thus bowel sounds can be intermittent, and listening for a brief period might miss infrequent sounds. A more extended auscultation is necessary to assess bowel activity adequately.

Choice B rationale

Listening for 2 minutes in each quadrant totals 8 minutes of auscultation, which is more comprehensive than 1 minute. However, bowel sounds can still be sporadic. A longer duration of listening in at least one quadrant where sounds might be present is needed before concluding they are absent.

Choice C rationale

Auscultating for bowel sounds for a total of 5 minutes (not necessarily 5 minutes in each quadrant, but listening attentively in different areas for a cumulative of 5 minutes) is the generally accepted minimum duration to confidently declare bowel sounds absent, termed "silent bowel sounds.”. This extended listening time increases the likelihood of detecting any intermittent bowel activity.

Choice D rationale

Listening for 10 minutes is even more thorough, but if no bowel sounds are heard after a continuous and attentive 5-minute auscultation, it is generally considered clinically significant for absent bowel sounds. Prolonged auscultation beyond 5 minutes is usually not necessary unless there are specific clinical indications.

Choice A rationale

Sterile water is not the preferred solution for routine irrigation of a gastrostomy tube. Typically, tap water is recommended for irrigation in most home and long-term care settings for established PEG tubes, as it is cost-effective and generally safe. Sterile water is usually reserved for initial post-operative irrigation or in immunocompromised patients as per specific physician orders.

Choice B rationale

Keeping the head of the bed elevated at least 30 degrees is crucial for a client with a gastrostomy tube, especially one who has dysphagia and is at high risk for aspiration. Elevating the head of the bed helps to prevent reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus and subsequent aspiration into the lungs, reducing the risk of aspiration pneumonia. This position should be maintained during and after feedings and medication administration.

Choice C rationale

While maintaining oral hygiene is important for all patients, including those with gastrostomy tubes, moistening the client's lips with lemon glycerin swabs is generally discouraged. Lemon glycerin swabs can dry out the mucous membranes of the mouth and may not provide adequate hydration. Plain water or a moisturizing oral swab is a better choice for maintaining oral comfort.

Choice D rationale

Measuring the client's abdominal girth can be a useful assessment for detecting abdominal distension, which might indicate feeding intolerance or other complications related to the gastrostomy tube. However, it is not a primary intervention immediately following PEG tube placement. Ensuring proper positioning to prevent aspiration is a more critical initial intervention for a client with dysphagia.