Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 66%
Full-length
In a long term rehabilitation care unit, a client with spinal cord injury complains of a pounding headache. The client is sitting in a wheelchair watching television. Further assessment by the nurse reveals excessive sweating, a splotchy rash, pilomotor erection, facial flushing, congested nasal passages and a heart rate of 50. The nurse should perform which action next?
Correct answer
C
Rationale
Check the client for bladder distention and the client's urinary catheter for kinks. These are findings of autonomic dysreflexia, typically initiated by a noxious stimulus below the level of injury such as a full bladder.