For padding is applied to unconscious patient to prevent?

HPSSSB Staff Nurse - 2016

Medical & Surgical Nursing

Hard

Appeared in: HPSSSB Staff Nurse - 2016

Explanation

The primary goal of applying eye padding to an unconscious patient is to prevent the serious complication of a corneal ulcer.
Unconscious patients lose the protective blink reflex, which leaves the cornea exposed to air, causing it to dry out.
This prolonged dryness can lead to epithelial breakdown, irritation, and the formation of an ulcer, which can impair vision.
Padding keeps the eyelid closed, creating a moisture chamber that protects the cornea from drying and subsequent ulceration.

Option A: While eye padding does prevent dryness, this is the intermediate step, not the ultimate complication being prevented. Dryness is the cause, but the corneal ulcer is the severe effect that the intervention aims to avoid.
Option C: Eye padding does not prevent blinking. It is used precisely because the patient is unable to blink on their own.
Option D: Eye padding is a surface dressing and does not restrict the movement of the eyeball itself.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to This question tests the knowledge of nursing interventions for preventing complications in unconscious patients, specifically focusing on eye care to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
Corneal ulceration is a preventable, hospital-acquired condition. Meticulous eye care is a fundamental nursing responsibility for any patient with an altered level of consciousness to prevent pain, infection, and potential vision loss.
Nurses must assess the corneal reflex (blinking in response to a threat) in all unconscious patients to determine the risk for corneal injury.
What if? If a patient has facial trauma that prevents the use of an eye pad, a nurse should use alternative methods like applying a polyethylene film (moisture chamber) over the eyes or ensuring more frequent instillation of lubricating ointments.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core subject of the question: the purpose of an intervention (eye padding) for a specific patient population (unconscious).
Recall the physiological changes that occur in an unconscious patient. The most relevant change here is the loss of protective reflexes, such as the blink reflex.
Analyze the consequence of this physiological change. Without blinking, the cornea is exposed and dries out.
Consider the potential complications of a dry cornea. Prolonged dryness leads to irritation, abrasions, and eventually, ulceration.
Evaluate the options based on this chain of reasoning. The intervention (padding) prevents dryness, which in turn prevents the most severe complication (corneal ulcer). Therefore, preventing the ulcer is the primary clinical goal.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: This question tests the knowledge of nursing interventions for preventing complications in unconscious patients, specifically focusing on eye care.
Stem keywords: padding, unconscious patient, prevent
Lead-in keywords: prevent
Clinical cues: The patient's state of being 'unconscious' is the key clinical cue, as it implies the loss of protective reflexes like blinking.

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