A client with a history of COPD is being assessed. When the nurse percusses the client's chest, which characteristic sound is expected?

Tympany

Hyperresonance

Resonance

Dullness

Answer and Explanation

The Correct Answer is B

Choice a reason:
Tympany is a drum-like, resonant sound that is typically heard over air-filled structures, such as the gastric bubble, not the chest. It is not a sound associated with the lungs, especially in the context of COPD.

Choice b reason:
Hyperresonance is an abnormally loud, lower-pitched sound than normal resonance heard over hyperinflated areas of the lung, such as in cases of COPD. This is due to the increased air content within the lungs, often because of overdistension or destruction of alveolar tissue, as seen in emphysema, a common type of COPD.

Choice c reason:
Resonance is the normal sound heard over healthy lung tissue when percussed. However, in the case of COPD, particularly emphysema, the destruction of lung tissue leads to hyperinflation and thus a hyperresonant sound rather than the normal resonance.

Choice d reason:
Dullness is heard when fluid or solid tissue replaces air in the lung or occupies the pleural space, as in the case of pneumonia or pleural effusion. This is not characteristic of COPD, where there is an increase in air due to the breakdown of alveolar walls.

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Correct Answer is C

Explanation

Choice A reason:
Acute pain is typically sudden in onset and is usually the result of a specific injury or illness. It is characterized by its sharp quality and tends to last for a short duration, generally not longer than six months. Since the patient's knee pain has persisted for eleven months, it does not fall under the category of acute pain.
Choice B reason:
Intermittent pain is pain that comes and goes at intervals. Although the patient's pain could be intermittent, the classification based on duration would not be described as intermittent. This term refers more to the pattern of the pain rather than its chronicity or cause.
Choice C reason:
Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists for longer than six months, often continuing even after the injury or illness that caused it has healed. The patient's bilateral knee pain has been present for eleven months, which exceeds the six-month threshold, thus categorizing it as chronic pain.
Choice D reason:
Idiopathic pain refers to pain that arises without a clear cause. It is not categorized based on the duration of the pain but rather on the absence of an identifiable underlying reason. Since the patient's pain has a specific duration, it is not appropriate to classify it as idiopathic without further information regarding its cause.

A. Assist the client to a sitting position. B. Percuss the region before auscultating. C. Reduce all environmental noise. D. Palpate the region before auscultating.

Correct Answer is C

Explanation

Choice a reason:
Assisting the client to a sitting position is not the best action to ensure that bowel sounds can be heard. For abdominal auscultation, the patient should be lying down in a supine position to relax the abdominal muscles, which facilitates the hearing of bowel sounds.

Choice b reason:
Percussion of the abdomen before auscultation is not recommended as the best initial action. Percussion can stimulate bowel motility, which may alter the natural bowel sounds that the nurse is attempting to assess.

Choice c reason:
Reducing all environmental noise is the best action to ensure that bowel sounds can be heard clearly. Environmental noise can mask the subtle sounds of bowel motility, and minimizing distractions allows for a more accurate assessment of bowel activity.

Choice d reason:
Palpating the region before auscultating is not the best action because palpation can also stimulate bowel motility and potentially alter the bowel sounds. Auscultation should be performed before palpation during the abdominal examination to avoid this issue.

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A client with a history of COPD is being assessed. When the nurse percusses the client's chest, which characteristic sound is expected?

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Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams

Correct Answer is C

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