Exam 15: Assessing the Integumentary System

The nurse is preparing to assess a patient's integumentary status. What should the nurse do prior to beginning this examination?

A Caucasian patient is admitted with possible carbon monoxide poisoning. What skin color can the nurse expect to find that would support this diagnosis?

The nurse notes the presence of this lesion on the patient's anterior chest. How should the nurse document this finding in the medical record?

The nurse is assessing a patient for nail clubbing. Place an "X" on the area of the fingernail that the nurse should examine.

A female patient who is concerned about excessive hair on her arms and legs states that her mother had the same problem. How should the nurse respond?

The nurse is preparing to assess a patient's integumentary status. Which techniques should the nurse use to conduct this assessment?

The nurse is caring for a patient diagnosed with oculocutaneous albinism. What does the nurse understand this health problem to be?

The nurse is caring for an older patient. What should the nurse keep in mind when caring for the patient's skin?

The nurse is assessing a patient with the following laboratory values: sodium 144 mEq/L; potassium 3.8 mEq/L; hemoglobin 8.4 g/dL; glucose 105 mg/dL. Which assessment might correlate with these findings?

A patient has a history of paronychia. Place an "X" on the area of the fingernail that becomes inflamed in paronychia.

The nurse documents that a patient has 4+ pitting edema on the lower right tibia. How many millimeters of depression did this patient demonstrate?

A patient is scheduled for a test to diagnose for the presence of a herpes infection. For which diagnostic test should the nurse prepare the patient?

The nurse is caring for an African American patient who has a serum bilirubin of 6 mg/100 mL. What is the best way of assessing skin color changes in this patient?

A patient waiting to have a skin biopsy asks what occurs during the procedure. What should the nurse respond to this patient?

The nurse is caring for a patient with a skin fissure. Place an "X" over the diagram that represents a skin fissure.

When conducting a physical examination of the skin, hair, and nails, the nurse notes the age of the patient. Why is this information important to the nurse?

The nurse is planning to assess an African American patient's integumentary status. Which finding indicates the presence of cyanosis in this patient?

During the assessment of an older patient's integumentary status, the nurse notes small areas of hyperpigmentation on the patient's hands. What should the nurse consider as the cause of this finding?

A patient who has experienced a burn involving both the epidermis and the dermis asks if the area will heal and be as it was prior to the burn. What knowledge of skin structures should the nurse use to respond to this patient?

The patient states, "This dark spot on my arm is getting bigger, and it bleeds occasionally." Which health information is most important relative to this report?