ATI LPN
Timby's Introductory Medical-Surgical Nursing Thirteenth, North American Edition
Chapter 70 : Caring for Clients With Eating Disorders Questions
Question 1 of 5
The nurse is caring for a client with anorexia nervosa. What is the most important goal when planning care for this client?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In anorexia, electrolyte levels, especially potassium and sodium, are often dangerously low. Cardiac irregularities can be identified on electrocardiogram and are often directly linked to fluid and electrolyte imbalances that can lead to cardiac failure and death.
Therefore, it is paramount to correct fluid and electrolyte imbalances. Regaining lost weight, supporting healthy coping mechanisms, and improving self-esteem are all goals that are significant in the management of anorexia.
Question 2 of 5
A teenager who is attending a clinic for eating disorders has shown improvement in weight, but the laboratory values remain poor. Which behavior would the nurse identify as the likely cause of this finding?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Drinking large volumes of water prior to being weighed is manipulative behavior that is likely the cause of improved weight without improved laboratory values. Pushing food around the plate to distort amount of food eaten, inducing vomiting, and disposing of food are all forms of manipulation but would not account for improvement of weight.
Question 3 of 5
When taking a client's history, the client reports to the nurse inappropriate use of diuretics and laxatives, secreteating of high-calorie and high-carbohydrate foods, and alternately bingeing and fasting. Based on this information, which eating disorder should the nurse suspect?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Behavioral signs and symptoms of bulimia nervosa include excessive exercise; use of diuretics, and laxatives, secret eating of high-calorie, high-carbohydrate foods, and alternately bingeing and fasting. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by behavioral signs and symptoms including restriction of food choices and intake, ritualistic handling of food (e.g., cutting into tiny pieces, arranging food in a certain way), weighing oneself frequently, and denial of hunger. Binge eating and compulsive overeating are characterized by frequent dieting, restricting activities because of embarrassment about weight, eating when not hungry, rapid eating, and eating alone.
Question 4 of 5
The client has just been diagnosed with binge eating disorder. Which statement by the client is most indicative of this diagnosis?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Binge eating disorder is characterized by the inability to control overeating accompanied by a guilty feeling. Eating when not hungry is not specific to binge eating and is often a characteristic of compulsive overeating. Binge eaters eat very rapidly and often consume as much as 10,000 calories at one sitting. Many binge eaters are overweight as are compulsive overeaters.
Question 5 of 5
The nurse is assisting a binge eater in establishing a dietary plan of care. What instruction is most likely to cause a relapse in behavior?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Strict dieting or fasting is the leading cause of binging. The newer approach to weight management stresses that all foods are acceptable and strict avoidance of foods tends to worsen binge eating. Clients should attend self-help groups or group therapy. Being cautious of items that are labeled fat free and sugar free is encouraged because sugar free may not mean calorie free. Remember that recovery is a day-by-day process.