ATI LPN
Timby's Introductory Medical-Surgical Nursing Thirteenth, North American Edition
Chapter 11 : Pain Management Questions
Question 1 of 5
A male client has been in pain for 12 hours related to the presence of kidney stones and states, 'I can't take this pain any longer. It is getting worse by the minute.' What does the nurse understand about the client's ability to tolerate pain?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Pain tolerance is the amount of pain a person endures once the threshold has been reached. The ability to endure a great deal of pain indicates a high pain tolerance; a low pain tolerance refers to very little ability to endure pain. Various factors can affect pain tolerance. For example, fatigue diminishes the ability to cope with pain and heightens the perception of pain. There are gender differences in pain tolerance. Men tend to report lower pain intensity and demonstrate higher pain tolerance; women tend to rate their pain at higher levels and report pain in more body regions than men.
Question 2 of 5
The LPN has been assigned to obtain vital signs on several clients. While obtaining vital signs such as temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate, what other vital sign should the nurse be sure to include in the documentation?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The American Pain Society has proposed that pain assessment should be considered the fifth vital sign. The nurse should check and document the client's pain when assessing the client's temperature, pulse, respirations, and blood pressure. Peripheral pulses, lung sounds, and bowel sounds are important parts of a head-to-toe assessment but are not included in the collection of vital signs.
Question 3 of 5
An adult with severe cognitive impairment has had a surgical procedure, and the nurse is having a difficult time assessing the level of pain the client is having postoperatively. What method can the nurse use to obtain data about the client's pain?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Cognitively impaired older adults may be unable to report pain; comparison of current behavior with previous behavior patterns and reports from caregivers can help in assessing pain in these clients. Pain may manifest as agitation; aggression; withdrawal; or changes in behavior, positioning, or sleep patterns. The other methods would not be appropriate for a cognitively impaired client. Asking the client loudly will not increase the client's understanding.
Question 4 of 5
A preschool-age child is admitted for reports of abdominal pain and vomiting. What is the best method for the nurse to collect data about the pain level of the child?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Faces scale is best for pediatric, culturally diverse, and mentally challenged clients. It uses pictures and short descriptive phrases. The preschool-age child would have difficulty understanding the meaning of numbers in relation to pain. Asking the child to describe the pain does not give information about the level of pain the child is experiencing. Because the preschool child has a limited vocabulary, a word scale would not be appropriate for the rating of pain.
Question 5 of 5
The nurse is administering a narcotic analgesic for the control of a newly postoperative client's pain. What medication will the nurse administer to this client?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Opioid and opiate analgesics such as morphine and fentanyl are controlled substances referred to as narcotics. The other medications are not opioid analgesics and should not be given for a newly postoperative client.