Final answer:
When assessing a client who suffered a right-hemispheric stroke, a nurse should expect to find visual-spatial deficits, left hemianopsia, and one-sided neglect. Expressive aphasia is typically linked to left hemisphere damage, and right hemiplegia is not expected as the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body.
Step-by-step explanation:
A home health nurse assessing a client who has suffered a right-hemispheric stroke should expect to find certain neurologic deficits. These deficits may include:
- Visual-spatial deficits: As the right hemisphere is responsible for spatial abilities and visual perception, impairments in these areas are common after a right-hemispheric stroke.
- Left hemianopsia: This refers to a loss of vision in the left halves of the visual fields, which occurs due to the damage in the right hemisphere that processes visual information coming from both eyes.
- One-sided neglect, also known as hemineglect, which means the patient may ignore or be unaware of one side of their body or the space around it. In this case, since it's a right-hemispheric stroke, the neglect would likely be towards the left side.
While expressive aphasia, a difficulty in producing language, is typically associated with damage to the left hemisphere, a right-hemispheric stroke could still impact language through difficulties in nonverbal aspects or prosody. However, it is less likely than the other deficits listed. Right hemiplegia does not occur with a right-hemispheric stroke; instead, left-sided weakness or paralysis (hemiplegia) may be present because the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body