A 68-year-old is admitted for acute uncomplicated diverticulitis with WBC 16,000/uL and persistent left lower quadrant pain. Which nursing actions support recovery and reduce the risk of perforation? Select all that apply.
Select All That Apply
Choose your responses, then check the answer.
Explanation
Acute diverticulitis nursing priorities: bowel rest with staged dietary advancement, scheduled broad-spectrum antibiotics, avoidance of mechanical interventions (enemas/laxatives/barium) that can perforate inflamed diverticula, and vigilant monitoring for perforation signs (rigid abdomen, rebound, fever spike, hypotension). Choice 5 is wrong — local heat to an inflamed/infected area can worsen vasodilation, accelerate inflammation, and potentially obscure the perforation pain pattern; cold may be safer if anything, but the standard answer is to avoid heat in acute abdomen.
The "no enemas, no barium, no laxatives" rule for acute diverticulitis is a classic NCLEX setup — the inflamed diverticulum is one increased-pressure event from perforating. Long-term prevention is high-fiber, but only AFTER the acute phase resolves. Heat to an undiagnosed acute abdomen is the same trap as warming an ischemic limb.
68-year-old admitted with acute uncomplicated diverticulitis. WBC 16,000/uL, low-grade fever, persistent LLQ pain, mild guarding without rebound. CT showed sigmoid diverticulitis without abscess or free air.
Diverticulitis — Inflammation/microperforation of colonic diverticula, most often sigmoid, presenting as LLQ pain, fever, leukocytosis.
Bowel rest — Clear liquids initially, advancing to low-fiber, then high-fiber after full recovery; reduces colonic pressure during inflammation.