Practice Question
A nurse is contributing to the plan of care for a client who has multiple sclerosis and is taking dantrolene to manage muscle spasms. Which of the following interventions should the nurse include?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Encourage the client to complete ADLs.
Rationale:
💎 Dantrolene is a skeletal muscle relaxant that can decrease muscle spasticity but may also cause generalized muscle weakness, so clients need to maintain as much functional independence as safely possible.
💎 Encouraging the client to complete ADLs supports mobility, strength, and self-care, helping to prevent deconditioning and maintain neuromuscular function.
💎 In multiple sclerosis, maintaining activity within tolerance is important to preserve muscle tone and joint mobility, despite fatigue.
💎 The nurse should still monitor for excessive fatigue or weakness but the overall goal is to promote safe independence, not complete inactivity.
💎 Therefore, including a plan that encourages performance of ADLs is an appropriate and therapeutic intervention.
Apply hot packs to the client's muscles.
💎 Clients with multiple sclerosis are often heat sensitive, and increased temperature can worsen neurological symptoms and exacerbations.
💎 Applying hot packs may temporarily relax muscles but can also increase fatigue, weakness, and conduction block in demyelinated nerves.
💎 Heat can worsen spasticity and neurological deficits rather than relieve them, especially if the client already has compromised mobility.
💎 Safer options typically include cooler environments and gentle stretching, rather than adding heat.
💎 Therefore, applying hot packs is not appropriate for an MS client and should not be included in the care plan.
Schedule physical therapy in the afternoon.
💎 Clients with multiple sclerosis commonly experience fatigue that worsens as the day progresses, making afternoon activity more difficult.
💎 Morning is usually the best time for physical therapy, when energy levels are highest, allowing better participation and safety.
💎 Scheduling PT in the afternoon may result in reduced tolerance, weaker effort, and increased fall risk due to fatigue.
💎 The plan of care should match energy patterns, not work against them, especially in chronic neurological conditions.
💎 Thus, intentionally scheduling PT in the afternoon is not optimal and should not be the chosen intervention.
Administer valerian to promote sleep.
💎 Valerian is an herbal supplement used as a CNS depressant for sleep, but combining it with a muscle relaxant like dantrolene could increase sedation and safety risks.
💎 Herbal remedies can also have drug interactions and should not be administered by the nurse without a specific provider order.
💎 The question focuses on nursing interventions for safe use of dantrolene, not on adding unprescribed sedatives.
💎 Safer sleep support includes sleep hygiene, environment modification, and ordered medications, rather than unsupervised herbal use.
💎 Therefore, administering valerian is not appropriate and should not be included in the plan of care.
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This question is from ATI PN Adult Medical Surgical Online Practice 2023 B which contains 87 questions.
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From Exam
ATI PN Adult Medical Surgical Online Practice 2023 B
87 Questions
View Full Exam Start PracticingQuestion Details
- Category: LPN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: LPN ATI Exams
- Domain: Medical-Surgical
- Answer Choices: 4