Basic Care and Comfort NCLEX PN Questions Nursing Practice Question
A nurse is assessing a patient's right lower extremity. The extremity is warm to touch, red and swollen. The patient is also running a low fever. Which of the following conditions would be the most likely cause of the patient's condition?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The symptoms presented—warmth, redness, swelling, and a low fever—strongly indicate an infection, which aligns with cellulitis. This condition is characterized by inflammation of the skin and underlying tissues, often caused by bacteria entering through breaks in the skin.
Option A, herpes, typically presents with vesicular lesions rather than the swelling and warmth described. Option B, scleroderma, is a chronic autoimmune condition that causes skin thickening and does not usually present with acute warmth or fever. Option C, dermatitis, involves skin inflammation but lacks the systemic signs of infection like fever. Thus, cellulitis is the most fitting diagnosis given the clinical presentation.