Question

The nurse is assigned to care for a female client with complete right-sided hemiparesis. The nurse plans care knowing that this condition:

A. The client has complete bilateral paralysis of the arms and legs.
B. The client has weakness on the right side of the body, including the face and tongue.
C. The client has lost the ability to move the right arm but can walk independently.
D. The client has lost the ability to move the right arm but can walk independen

Answer 1

The correct understanding of complete right-sided hemiparesis involves weakness on the right side of the body, including the face and tongue, not complete bilateral paralysis, or the ability to walk independently. Hemiparesis involves partial weakening and is often treated with physiotherapy and medication.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse planning care for a female client with complete right-sided hemiparesis should know that this condition means the client has weakness on the right side of the body, including the face and tongue. This is indicative of hemiparesis, which is partial weakness on one side of the body. A full paralysis (complete loss of muscle function) of both arms and legs would be described as quadriplegia, not hemiparesis, and the inability to move only the right arm but able to walk independently would not represent a "complete right-sided hemiparesis," which affects the entire side of the body.

Hemiparesis can result from various medical conditions, including a stroke or cerebral palsy, which often involve damage to the brain tissue on one side of the brain affecting the opposite side of the body due to the crisscrossing of nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. However, this weakness is different from hemiplegia, which refers to complete paralysis of one side of the body. Treatment and care for such patients typically involve physiotherapy, medication, and possibly surgery, depending on the underlying cause.