The removal of fluid from the pleural sac to drain fluid or identify the contents of the fluid is called?

Appeared in: DSSSB - 29 August 2019 (Shift-1)

Explanation

Thoracentesis is the medical term for a procedure that involves puncturing the chest wall to aspirate fluid or air from the pleural space, the area surrounding the lungs.
This procedure serves two main purposes: diagnostic (to send the fluid for analysis to determine the cause of a pleural effusion) and therapeutic (to remove excess fluid that is causing shortness of breath and discomfort).
It is also referred to as a thoracocentesis or pleural tap.

Option B: Villous sampling, or Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS), is a prenatal test that involves taking a sample of tissue from the placenta.
Option C: Amniocentesis is a prenatal procedure where a small amount of amniotic fluid is removed from the sac surrounding the fetus in the uterus.
Option D: Pericardiocentesis is the removal of fluid from the pericardial sac, which is the space around the heart.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Medical terminology for invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
A key nursing role during and after thoracentesis is to monitor the patient for complications. This includes observing vital signs, respiratory status, and signs of pneumothorax (collapsed lung), such as sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, or low oxygen saturation.
Nurses are responsible for ensuring informed consent is obtained, positioning the patient correctly, providing support during the procedure, and managing the collected specimen.
What if? If the fluid collection was causing muffled heart sounds and low blood pressure, the priority would shift. This suggests cardiac tamponade, and the necessary procedure would be pericardiocentesis, not thoracentesis.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key anatomical location in the question stem, which is the 'pleural sac'.
Recall or deduce that the pleural sac is associated with the lungs and the thoracic (chest) cavity.
Analyze the prefixes of the options. 'Thorac-' refers to the chest, 'peri-' means around, '-cardio' refers to the heart, 'amnio-' refers to the amniotic sac, and 'villous' refers to the placental villi.
Match the anatomical location 'pleural sac' with the corresponding medical term. 'Thoracentesis' is the only option related to the thoracic cavity and lungs.
Eliminate the other options as they pertain to different body systems (cardiac) or conditions (prenatal diagnosis).

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Medical terminology for invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
Stem keywords: removal of fluid, pleural sac, drain fluid
Lead-in keywords: is called

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E6 Nursing Fundamentals Taylor p. 721-723

E6 Medicine Harrison 22e Part 2 p. 112-114

Practise the full DSSSB - 29 August 2019 (Shift-1)

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.