Several months after antibiotic therapy, a child is readmitted to the hospital with an exacerbation of osteomyelitis, which is now in the chronic stage. The mother appears anxious and asks what she could have done to prevent the exacerbation. The nurse's response is based on the knowledge that chronic osteomyelitis:
- Is caused by poor physical conditions or poor nutrition
- Often results from unhygienic conditions or an unclean environment
- Is directly related to sluggish circulation in the affected limb
- May develop from sinuses in the involved bone that retain infectious material
Answer(s): D
Explanation:
(A) Poor nutrition and/or poor physical conditions are factors that predispose to the development of osteomyelitis but do not cause it. (B) An unclean or unhygienic environment may predispose to the development of chronic osteomyelitis, but it does not cause an exacerbation of the previous infection. (C) Sluggish circulation through the medullary cavity during acute osteomyelitis may delay healing, but it does not cause the disease to become chronic. (D) Areas of sequestrum may be surrounded by dense bone, become honeycombed with sinuses, and retain infectious organisms for a long time.
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