A nurse is assisting with the discharge of a child who has sickle cell anemia and is recovering from an acute sickle cell crisis. Which of the following instructions should the nurse reinforce with the child's parents?
Have the child eat a high-protein diet.
Monitor the child's temperature twice per day.
Restrict outdoor play activity
Encourage the child to increase his fluid intake.
The Correct Answer is D
A. Have the child eat a high-protein diet. There is no specific requirement for a high-protein diet to manage sickle cell disease. Hydration is more critical in crisis prevention.
B. Monitor the child's temperature twice per day. While monitoring for infection is essential, this is not the most important discharge instruction to prevent crises.
C. Restrict outdoor play activity. While strenuous exercise should be avoided, activity restriction is unnecessary as long as the child stays hydrated and avoids extreme conditions.
D. Encourage the child to increase his fluid intake. Increased fluid intake helps prevent sickling by reducing blood viscosity, which is essential in preventing future crises.
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Correct Answer is B
Explanation
A. Progressive increase in platelet production: In DIC, platelets are rapidly consumed, not increased, due to widespread clotting in the blood vessels.
B. Excessive thrombosis and bleeding: DIC is a complex condition where there is widespread activation of the clotting cascade, leading to excessive clotting and subsequent depletion of platelets and clotting factors, resulting in both thrombosis and bleeding.
C. Immediate sodium and fluid retention: Sodium and fluid retention are not specific findings in DIC; they may occur in cases of renal or heart failure but are unrelated to the clotting issues in DIC.
D. Increased clotting factors: In DIC, clotting factors are depleted as they are used up in widespread clotting, leading to bleeding when factors are exhausted.
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
A. Contact the surgeon to obtain orders for a nebulizer treatment from respiratory therapy. A nebulizer is typically not the initial intervention for mild post-operative pain or mild respiratory discomfort due to pain with inspiration.
B. Provide the patient with a heating pad alternated with a cold pack for incisional pain. While heat or cold therapy can help with pain, opioid pain management with encouragement to perform deep breathing exercises is more effective for post-splenectomy patients.
C. Medicate with opioids for pain and assist the patient to deep breathe, cough, and ambulate. Pain management combined with encouraging deep breathing, coughing, and early ambulation helps prevent post-operative complications like atelectasis and pneumonia, which are common after abdominal surgeries.
D. Contact the surgeon to request a chest x-ray and a laboratory draw for CBC with differential. This intervention might be necessary if there were signs of infection or other complications, but mild pain with inspiration on the first day post-op does not typically warrant imaging or labs.