Question

The physician has ordered dressings with mafenide acetate (Sulfamylon) cream for a client with full-thickness burns of the hands and arms. Before dressing changes, the nurse should give priority to: A. Administering pain medication B. Checking the adequacy of urinary output C. Requesting a daily complete blood count D. Obtaining a blood glucose by finger stick

Short answer

Answer: Administering pain medication.

Step-by-step solution

Analyze option A (Administering pain medication)

Giving priority to administering pain medication before changing the dressing is important, as changing the dressing could be painful for the patient. Pain management is often necessary when dealing with severe burns. This option seems relevant, so we will consider it.

Analyze option B (Checking the adequacy of urinary output)

Checking the adequacy of urinary output is essential for patients with full-thickness burns who require fluid resuscitation. However, since we're specifically looking for a priority action before changing the dressing with mafenide acetate (Sulfamylon) cream, option B may not be as immediately relevant as the others.

Analyze option C (Requesting a daily complete blood count)

Requesting a daily complete blood count might be helpful to monitor the patient's overall condition, including infection and inflammation related to the burns. However, this action might not be the most urgent priority when it comes to changing the dressing.

Analyze option D (Obtaining a blood glucose by finger stick)

Checking blood glucose levels is essential for patients with diabetes mellitus or at risk for glucose level fluctuations. While this might be an important aspect of overall care, it does not seem to be directly related to the priority action before changing the dressing with mafenide acetate (Sulfamylon) cream.

Choose the correct answer

Based on the analyses of all the options, we can conclude that the correct answer is A. Administering pain medication. This is the priority action before changing the dressing with mafenide acetate (Sulfamylon) cream on a patient with full-thickness burns of the hands and arms, as this helps to manage the patient's pain during the procedure.