Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 73%
Full-length
The nurse is caring for a 2-year-old girl with a subdural hematoma of the temporal area as a result of falling out of bed and notices that she has a runny nose. The nurse should:
Correct answer
C
Rationale
The nasal discharge could be due to a cold. It is necessary to gather additional assessment data to identify a possible cerebrospinal fluid leak. If the discharge is cerebrospinal fluid, it would not be safe to encourage the girl to blow her nose. Cerebrospinal fluid is positive for sugar; mucus is not. Turning her to her side will have no effect on her 'runny nose.' It is necessary to gather further assessment data.