A student nurse documents the following: Lower left leg cool, mild edema, with dorsalis pedis, posterior knee and femoral pulse normal. How should this documentation be charted to communicate the assessment using appropriate medical terminology?
Left extremity cool to touch, normal pitting edema, with femoral, posterior tibial, and dorsalis pedis pulses palpable, +2.
Left lower extremity cool to touch, +2 pitting edema, with femoral, popliteal, and dorsalis pedis pulses palpable, +2.
Left lower leg cool to touch, +4 edema with femoral, posterial tibial, dorsalis and pedis pulses normal.
Left lower leg normal cool temperature, slight swelling, femoral, posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis pulses normal.
The Correct Answer is B
A) Left extremity cool to touch, normal pitting edema, with femoral, posterior tibial, and dorsalis pedis pulses palpable, +2: While this option describes the left extremity and includes some relevant details, it inaccurately uses "normal pitting edema" without specifying the degree of edema clearly. Additionally, it lists the posterior tibial pulse instead of the popliteal, which is more appropriate given the anatomical location.
B) Left lower extremity cool to touch, +2 pitting edema, with femoral, popliteal, and dorsalis pedis pulses palpable, +2: This documentation accurately describes the left lower extremity, specifies the degree of edema as "+2," and correctly identifies the relevant pulses as femoral, popliteal, and dorsalis pedis. This terminology is clear and concise, providing a comprehensive assessment of the vascular status.
C) Left lower leg cool to touch, +4 edema with femoral, posterial tibial, dorsalis and pedis pulses normal: This option incorrectly reports the degree of edema as "+4," which indicates severe swelling, not matching the original assessment of "mild edema." It also incorrectly lists the posterior tibial pulse, which should be popliteal.
D) Left lower leg normal cool temperature, slight swelling, femoral, posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis pulses normal: The term "normal cool temperature" is confusing and not standard terminology. Additionally, "slight swelling" lacks specificity regarding the degree of edema, which is important for a clinical assessment. Furthermore, it inaccurately refers to the posterior tibial pulse instead of the popliteal.
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Correct Answer is D
Explanation
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