ATI RN
Client Comfort and End of Life Care ATI Quizlet Questions
Question 1 of 5
The nurse would expect a client with severe chronic pain to exhibit which of the following?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The nurse expects depression in a client with severe chronic pain, as persistent pain often leads to emotional distress, hopelessness, and isolation, disrupting serotonin and mood regulation. It's a common comorbidity, impacting quality of life. Choice A, increased social activity, is unlikelypain limits engagement, fostering withdrawal, not extroversion. Choice C, excessive sleeping, may occur as escape or from fatigue, but depression's broader emotional toll (e.g., sadness, anhedonia) is more consistent and primary. Choice D, euphoria, contradicts pain's burdenclients feel despair, not joy, unless medicated heavily, which isn't implied. Choice B is correct, aligning with chronic pain's psychological toll nurses assess, prompting interventions like counseling or antidepressants alongside pain management to address both mind and body, mitigating depression's amplifying effect on suffering.
Question 2 of 5
What does the nurse understand to be the primary reason for using adjuvant medications with opioid analgesics?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The nurse understands the primary reason for using adjuvant medications with opioid analgesics is to reduce the opioid dose, as adjuvants (e.g., gabapentin for neuropathy, NSAIDs for inflammation) target specific pain types, enhancing relief and allowing lower opioid amounts. This minimizes risks like dependence or respiratory depression. Choice B, eliminate side effects, is inaccurateadjuvants add their own (e.g., sedation), not erase opioid ones. Choice C, increase sedation, may occur (e.g., with antidepressants), but it's not the goalpain control is. Choice D, prevent addiction, isn't direct; lower doses reduce risk, but adjuvants address efficacy, not addiction itself. Choice A is correct, reflecting multimodal pain strategies nurses employ, optimizing therapy, and tailoring regimens to balance efficacy and safety in chronic or complex pain cases.
Question 3 of 5
A client asks the nurse why pain seems worse when the client is tired. What would be the basis of the nurse's response?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The basis of the nurse's response is reduced pain tolerance, as fatigue lowers the brain's ability to modulate pain signals, heightening perceptionexhaustion depletes coping reserves, making pain feel worse without changing its source. This is a psychological-physiological link. Choice B, increased inflammation, isn't fatigue-driven; inflammation ties to disease, not tiredness alone. Choice C, poor circulation, may worsen some pain (e.g., ischemia), but fatigue's effect is broader, not vascular-specific. Choice D, muscle tension, could contribute, but fatigue typically relaxes muscles, not tenses themtolerance is key. Choice A is correct, guiding nurses to explain this perception shift, suggesting rest or timed analgesics to bolster tolerance, helping clients manage pain's amplified feel when tired.
Question 4 of 5
A client asks the nurse why pain medication is given before dressing changes. What would be the basis of the nurse's response?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The basis of the nurse's response is to reduce discomfort, as pain medication before dressing changes preempts pain from tissue manipulation, especially in wounds (e.g., burns), ensuring the procedure is tolerable and effective. Timing (e.g., 30 minutes prior) aligns peak relief with activity. Choice A, prevent infection, is unrelatedanalgesics don't sterilize; that's antiseptics' role. Choice C, speed healing, isn't directpain control aids comfort, not tissue repair rates. Choice D, increase sedation, may occur but isn't the goalrelief, not sleep, drives dosing. Choice B is correct, explaining preemptive analgesianurses use this to minimize procedural pain, enhancing client cooperation and healing by preventing distress spikes during sensitive interventions like dressing changes.
Question 5 of 5
The nurse in charge is assessing a patient's abdomen. Which examination technique should the nurse use first?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: When assessing a patient's abdomen, the nurse must follow a systematic approach to ensure accurate findings, starting with the least invasive technique. Inspection (Choice B) is the first step because it involves observing the abdomen for visible signs like distension, scars, or asymmetry without altering the body's natural state. Auscultation (Choice A) comes next, as it listens to bowel sounds, but performing percussion (Choice C) or palpation (Choice D) first could stimulate bowel motility or cause discomfort, potentially skewing the auscultation results. Inspection provides a baseline visual assessment, allowing the nurse to note abnormalities before proceeding to hands-on techniques. For instance, palpating or percussing too early might increase peristalsis, leading to misleading bowel sound interpretations. This sequenceinspection, auscultation, percussion, palpationis a standard protocol in nursing practice to maintain accuracy and patient comfort. Therefore, starting with inspection (Choice B) ensures the assessment is both logical and effective, making it the correct answer.