An 83-year-old client has been hospitalized following a fall in his home. He has developed a possible fecal impaction. Which of the following assessment findings would be most indicative of a fecal…

The correct answer is C. Liquid stool. (A) A boardlike, rigid abdomen would point to a perforated bowel, not a fecal impaction. (B) When a client is fecally impacted, a common symptom is the urge to defecate but the inability (C) When an impaction is present, only liquid stool will be able to pass around the…

Physiological Integrity: Physiological Adaptation

Question

An 83-year-old client has been hospitalized following a fall in his home. He has developed a possible fecal impaction. Which of the following assessment findings would be most indicative of a fecal impaction?

Options

ABoardlike, rigid abdomen
BLoss of the urge to defecate
CLiquid stool
DAbdominal pain

How the community answered

(43 responses)

A
2% (1)
B
7% (3)
C
88% (38)
D
2% (1)

Explanation

(A) A boardlike, rigid abdomen would point to a perforated bowel, not a fecal impaction. (B) When a client is fecally impacted, a common symptom is the urge to defecate but the inability (C) When an impaction is present, only liquid stool will be able to pass around the impacted site. (D) Abdominal pain without distention is not a sign of a fecal impaction.

Topics

#fecal impaction#liquid stool#paradoxical diarrhea#bowel assessment

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