Question

The nurse is preparing to care for a child with a head injury. On review of the records, the nurse notes that the health care provider has documented decorticate posturing. The nurse plans care, knowing that this type of posturing indicates which finding?

a. Increased intracranial pressure
b. Damage to the brainstem
c. Damage to the cerebral cortex
d. Spinal cord injury

Answer 1

Decorticate posturing suggests damage to the cerebral cortex or the pathways to it, indicating deep brain injury rather than brainstem involvement or spinal cord injury.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse is preparing to care for a child with a head injury and notes that the health care provider has documented decorticate posturing. Decorticate posturing is a type of abnormal body posture that involves the arms being flexed or bent inward on the chest, the hands being clenched into fists, and the legs extended and feet turned inward. This type of posturing indicates damage to the cerebral cortex or the pathways leading to it. Therefore, when planning care with the knowledge that decorticate posturing has been observed, it is important to understand that it typically suggests damage to the cerebral cortex, rather than increased intracranial pressure, damage to the brainstem, or a spinal cord injury.