What should a person do to prevent a pulmonary embolus from occurring?

A. Hernia causes mechanical bowel obstruction by physically trapping or compressing the intestine, preventing content passage. This aligns with the patient’s hernia, creating a structural blockage consistent with clinical findings.

B. Hypokalemia leads to functional bowel obstruction by disrupting intestinal motility through electrolyte imbalances, impairing muscle contractions without physical blockage. This matches the patient’s hypokalemia, exacerbating adynamic ileus.

C. Anesthesia from surgery causes functional bowel obstruction by slowing intestinal peristalsis, often resulting in postoperative ileus. This aligns with the patient’s recent anesthesia exposure, disrupting coordinated muscle contractions.

D. Intestinal tumor results in mechanical bowel obstruction by physically blocking or compressing the intestinal lumen, impeding content flow. The patient’s tumor aligns with this mechanism, a common cause of mechanical obstruction.

E. Pancreatitis contributes to functional bowel obstruction by causing inflammation or retroperitoneal irritation, leading to adynamic ileus without physical blockage. This matches the patient’s pancreatitis, disrupting intestinal motility.

F. Adhesions cause mechanical bowel obstruction by forming fibrous bands that kink or compress the intestine, blocking content passage. The patient’s adhesion history aligns with this, a leading cause of small bowel obstruction

Choice A reason: Visceral pain arises from internal organs due to stretching or inflammation, not from musculoskeletal injuries like an ankle sprain. An ankle sprain causes localized tissue damage, producing sharp, immediate pain, not the dull, diffuse pain typical of visceral sources, making this incorrect.

Choice B reason: Chronic pain persists beyond three months, often from ongoing conditions like arthritis. An ankle sprain causes immediate, short-term pain due to acute tissue injury, not prolonged pain, making chronic pain incorrect for the immediate aftermath of a sprain.

Choice C reason: Acute pain occurs immediately after injury, like an ankle sprain, due to tissue damage, inflammation, and activation of nociceptors. It is sharp and localized, resolving with healing, matching the description of pain right after a sprain, making this the correct choice.

Choice D reason: Referred pain is felt in a different area from the injury source, such as shoulder pain from a heart attack. An ankle sprain causes localized pain at the injury site, not referred pain, making this choice incorrect for the described scenario.