A nurse at an extended-care facility is instructing a class of assistive personnel (AP) about the use of assistive devices during client ambulation.
Which of the following instructions should the nurse include about assisting clients who use a cane?

Choice A rationale
Increasing the client’s oral fluid intake is not the immediate action the nurse should take. While hydration is important, it does not directly address the client’s low oxygen saturation.
Choice B rationale
Initiating humidification therapy can help to thin secretions and improve oxygenation, but it is not the immediate action the nurse should take.
Choice C rationale
Raising the head of the bed is the first action the nurse should take. This position can help to improve lung expansion and oxygenation.
Choice D rationale
Encouraging the client to cough and deep breath can help to clear secretions and improve oxygenation, but it is not the immediate action the nurse should take.

Choice A rationale

Full-thickness tissue loss extending to underlying support structures such as muscle, tendon, or bone is characteristic of a stage 4 pressure ulcer, not a stage 312.
Choice B rationale
A stage 3 pressure ulcer involves full-thickness skin loss and may appear as a deep crater. There may be damage to or necrosis of subcutaneous tissue that may extend down to, but not through, underlying fascia. This description matches the statement in Choice B, making it the correct answer.
Choice C rationale
A shallow, ruptured or intact skin blister without slough is more indicative of a stage 2 pressure ulcer. In a stage 2 pressure ulcer, there is partial-thickness loss of dermis presenting as a shallow open ulcer with a red-pink wound bed.
Choice D rationale
Unbroken skin with un-blancheable erythema is characteristic of a stage 1 pressure ulcer, not a stage 3. In a stage 1 pressure ulcer, the skin is not broken, but it has redness that does not lighten (or blanch) when you press on it.