Question

A 19-year-old college student is brought to the emergency department with a severe headache he describes as, "like nothing i've ever had before." his temperature is 40° c, and he has a stiff neck. the nurse looks for other signs and symptoms of which problem

Answer 1

The salient features of this case are severe headache, high grade fever, and a stiff neck (nuchal rigidity). These are classic signs and symptoms of meningitis. Therefore the nurse should look for other signs and symptoms that will support the diagnosis of meningitis with the hallmark of meningeal inflammation (i.e. Brudzinski's sign, Kernig's sign, passive neck flexion test, etc.)