Author Question: A client who recently returned from duty in Iraq is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder ... (Read 34 times)

wenmo · **on:** Jul 23, 2018

A client who recently returned from duty in Iraq is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The client's family questions what this means. How should the nurse respond to the family?

1. The client might experience sweating, increased heart rate, and blushing when asked to speak to an audience.
2. Whenever in an enclosed, small space, the client might experience an attack of sweating, racing heart, shortness of breath, and trembling.
3. The client might experience nightmares, hallucinations, or flashbacks, accompanied by a racing heart, sweating, shortness of breath, and trembling.
4. It might be common for the client to repetitively wash his hands over and over without apparent reason.

Question 2

A client comes to the emergency department with shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, pressure in the chest, and a feeling of impending doom.

After diagnostic tests and an electrocardiogram, the findings are not consistent with an acute myocardial infarction. What should the nurse do next?
1. Assess the gastrointestinal system.
2. Obtain a history of recent events that might trigger anxiety or that might indicate drug abuse.
3. Ask the health care provider to prescribe pain medication.
4. Prepare discharge forms for the client.

dlook33 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 23, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 3
Rationale 1: Social anxiety disorder is an unreasonable and persistent fear of crowds or of being ridiculed or embarrassed in public.
Rationale 2: Claustrophobia is a fear of closed places, such as elevators, where a panic attack could occur.
Rationale 3: Post-traumatic stress disorder is a type of situational anxiety that develops in response to reexperiencing a previous life event. The reexperience may take the form of nightmares, hallucinations, flashbacks, and panic attacks.
Rationale 4: Repetitive behaviors are a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Global Rationale: Post-traumatic stress disorder is a type of situational anxiety that develops in response to reexperiencing a previous life event. The reexperience may take the form of nightmares, hallucinations, flashbacks, and panic attacks. Social anxiety disorder is an unreasonable and persistent fear of crowds or of being ridiculed or embarrassed in public. Claustrophobia is a fear of closed places, such as elevators, where a panic attack could occur. Repetitive behaviors are a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 2
Rationale 1: The client is not experiencing any gastrointestinal symptoms.
Rationale 2: It is appropriate for the nurse to investigate a more in-depth history on the client to find out if the symptoms could be related to a panic attack or drug abuse. This is necessary to decipher the best course of action.
Rationale 3: There is no reason for pain medication to be prescribed for this client.
Rationale 4: The client was experiencing acute symptoms, the cause of which has yet to be determined. The client is not going to be discharged yet.
Global Rationale: It is appropriate for the nurse to investigate a more in-depth history on the client to find out if the symptoms could be related to a panic attack or drug abuse. This is necessary to decipher the best course of action. The client is not experiencing any gastrointestinal symptoms. There is no reason for pain medication to be prescribed for this client. The client was experiencing acute symptoms, the cause of which has yet to be determined. The client is not going to be discharged yet.