A client is being cared for in the emergency department (ED) with acute abdominal pain and a provisional diagnosis of pancreatitis. The nurse assesses the client and obtains the results from laboratory studies. Which information is most valuable in reporting the client’s status to the healthcare provider (HCP)?

Choice A reason: Potatoes are gluten-free, safe for celiac disease, as they lack wheat, barley, or rye proteins. They provide carbohydrates without triggering villous atrophy in the small intestine, indicating the client’s correct understanding of dietary restrictions, requiring no further teaching for this choice.

Choice B reason: Corn chips, if made from corn, are gluten-free and safe for celiac disease. They avoid gluten-containing grains, preventing intestinal inflammation. This choice reflects proper dietary knowledge, as corn does not contain gliadin, making it appropriate and requiring no additional instruction.

Choice C reason: Fried rice may contain gluten if prepared with soy sauce, which often includes wheat. This choice suggests potential misunderstanding, but oatmeal’s gluten content is more definitive, as rice can be gluten-free if prepared correctly, making this less incorrect than oatmeal.

Choice D reason: Oatmeal often contains gluten due to cross-contamination with wheat during processing, triggering celiac disease’s autoimmune response, damaging intestinal villi. This choice indicates a need for teaching, as gluten-free oats are required, and the client must avoid standard oatmeal to prevent symptoms.

Choice A reason: Topical analgesics relieve pain but do not address psoriasis’s underlying inflammation or scaling. Psoriasis involves immune-mediated epidermal hyperproliferation, causing scaly, burning plaques. Analgesics may reduce discomfort temporarily but fail to target the inflammatory process driven by T-cell activation, making this choice ineffective for managing psoriasis symptoms.

Choice B reason: Colloidal oatmeal-based lotion soothes irritated skin but is insufficient for psoriasis, which requires anti-inflammatory treatment. Oatmeal reduces itching in conditions like eczema but does not address psoriasis’s silvery scales or immune-driven inflammation, making it an inadequate choice for controlling the client’s burning, bleeding plaques.

Choice C reason: Topical antifungals treat fungal infections, not psoriasis, which is an autoimmune condition with no fungal etiology. The silvery, scaly plaques result from rapid keratinocyte turnover, not fungal growth, so antifungals are irrelevant, failing to reduce inflammation or scaling in this chronic inflammatory dermatologic condition.

Choice D reason: Topical corticosteroids are effective for psoriasis, reducing inflammation, scaling, and burning by suppressing T-cell activity and cytokine production. They slow epidermal proliferation, alleviating silvery plaques and bleeding. Potent corticosteroids are standard for elbow and palm lesions, making this the appropriate prescription to teach the client for symptom control.