A nurse is collecting a urine specimen for culture and sensitivity from a client who has an indwelling urinary catheter. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

Choice A Reason:

A client who has ulcerative colitis is correct. Ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), involves chronic inflammation and ulceration in the colon and rectum. This condition often results in bleeding from the inflamed mucosa, leading to the presence of blood in the stool that can be detected by a fecal occult blood test.

Choice B Reason:

A client who has stomatitis is incorrect. Stomatitis refers to inflammation in the mouth and does not typically cause bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, which is what the fecal occult blood test detects. Stomatitis involves oral lesions or sores but does not directly impact stool blood content.

Choice C Reason:

A client who uses laxatives is incorrect. Laxative use does not necessarily cause bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. While some laxatives can potentially irritate the intestinal lining, leading to minor bleeding in some cases, the presence of blood in the stool due to laxative use is less common compared to conditions like ulcerative colitis, where chronic inflammation and ulceration lead to significant bleeding.

Choice D Reason:

A client who has cholecystitis is incorrect. Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder and does not directly involve bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. It typically presents with symptoms related to gallbladder inflammation such as abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting, rather than causing bleeding that would be detected by a fecal occult blood test.

Choice A Reason:

Obtaining urine from the drainage bag if a urinary specimen is required is incorrect.

While obtaining urine from the drainage bag might seem practical for specimen collection, it's not the recommended method due to potential contamination of the specimen. A sterile sampling port or aspirating urine from the catheter tubing is a more appropriate technique.

Choice B Reason:

Using a catheter securing device to hold the catheter in place is correct. Securing the catheter with a proper securing device helps prevent unnecessary movement or tension on the catheter, reducing the risk of trauma to the urinary tract and ensuring stability for the catheter.

Choice C Reason:

Positioning the drainage bag higher than the client's bladder is incorrect. Positioning the drainage bag higher than the bladder can lead to backflow or reflux of urine, increasing the risk of urinary tract infections. The drainage bag should be placed below the level of the bladder to facilitate proper drainage.

Choice D Reason:

Changing the catheter bag every 3 days and as needed is incorrect. Routine changing of catheter bags every three days without clinical indication for changing can increase the risk of introducing infection. Catheter bags are changed based on clinical indications or when they are soiled or damaged, not on a fixed time schedule.