Musculoskeletal Care Flashcards
7 cards from real MSNCB practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Musculoskeletal Care flashcards as text
A patient 2 days post-total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has a temperature of 38.6°C, wound erythema, and purulent drainage. The priority nursing action is:
Answer: Notify the surgeon and obtain wound cultures before starting antibiotics
Signs of surgical site infection require wound cultures before antibiotics to identify the causative organism and guide treatment.
Which assessment finding in a patient with gout indicates the need for immediate provider notification?
Answer: Uric acid renal calculi with flank pain and hematuria
Uric acid kidney stones causing obstruction (flank pain, hematuria) are a serious complication of gout requiring urgent urologic evaluation.
A patient with ankylosing spondylitis asks what activity best maintains spinal flexibility. The nurse's best response is:
Answer: Swimming and prone-lying extension exercises
Swimming and prone-lying extension exercises help maintain spinal flexibility and counteract the tendency toward kyphotic fusion in ankylosing spondylitis.
A patient is receiving continuous passive motion (CPM) therapy after TKA. The patient requests to stop due to pain. The nurse should:
Answer: Stop CPM, administer prescribed analgesic, and restart after pain is controlled
Pain during CPM should be managed with analgesics before resuming; adequate pain control improves tolerance and outcomes.
Which nursing intervention is most effective in preventing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after hip replacement surgery?
Answer: Early ambulation and sequential compression devices with prescribed anticoagulation
Combined mechanical prophylaxis (SCDs, early ambulation) and pharmacologic anticoagulation is the most effective DVT prevention strategy post-arthroplasty.
A patient with a below-knee amputation complains of pain that feels like it is coming from the missing foot. The nurse correctly identifies this as:
Answer: Phantom limb pain, a well-recognized neuropathic phenomenon
Phantom limb pain is a real neuropathic phenomenon occurring in the majority of amputees and requires appropriate pain management.
Which finding in a patient with a plaster cast on the forearm requires urgent intervention?
Answer: Absent radial pulse and cool, pale fingers
Absent pulse with cool, pale skin distal to a cast signals acute arterial compromise and requires emergency cast removal.