ATI LPN
Timby's Introductory Medical-Surgical Nursing Thirteenth, North American Edition
Chapter 61 : Caring for Clients Requiring Orthopedic Treatment Questions
Question 1 of 5
The nurse is preparing a client to have his cast cut off after having it for 6 weeks to treat a fractured tibia. What should the nurse inform the client prior to the cast being removed?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Once the cast is off, the skin appears mottled and may be covered with a yellowish crust composed of accumulated body oil and dead skin. The client usually sheds this residue in a few days. The leg will not look as it did prior to the cast but will regain the same shape and status as the other leg. There should be no bumps underneath the cast. The leg may be weak and stiff for some time after the cast is removed, not stronger.
Question 2 of 5
A client is seen in the emergency department for an injury acquired from falling off of a bicycle and fracturing the arm. The client also has a long laceration that has been sutured to the same area. The client asks the nurse why a splint is applied and not a cast. What is the best explanation by the nurse?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A splint would be used when there is special skin treatment or observation that is required. The arm fracture would require the same form of immobilization that a leg fracture does. The length of time the splint can be worn is equal to that
of a cast to immobilize the fracture. The cost of the splint and cast would be similar.
Question 3 of 5
A client sustained a stable fracture of the cervical spine and is having skeletal traction applied. What type of traction does the nurse educate the client about?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Crutchfield tongs are used for skeletal traction in the case of a cervical spine fracture to stabilize the spine and maintain alignment. Kirschner wires and Steinmann pins are typically used for skeletal traction in other areas, such as limbs. A Thomas splint is used for femoral fractures and is a form of skin traction, not skeletal traction.
Question 4 of 5
A client is harbouring a fractured tibia is to be placed in skin traction. Which of the following is a type of skin traction that the nurse might expect to be used?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Buck's traction is a type of skin traction commonly used for temporary immobilization and pain relief in fractures, such as a fractured tibia, until definitive treatment like surgery can be performed. Skeletal traction involves pins inserted into the bone, external fixation involves a frame outside the body, and cast application is not a form of traction.
Question 5 of 5
The nurse is caring for a patient with a fractured right femur who is not a candidate to repair the femur immediately. What intervention should the nurse anticipate the physician will order to relieve muscle spasm and pain until surgery is performed?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: If surgery for a fracture cannot be performed right away, Buck's traction or other skin traction may be applied to relieve muscle spasm and pain until surgery is performed. The other distractors all require surgical intervention.