A 37-Yr-Old Patient Has Just Arrived in the Postanesthesia Recovery

question 21

Multiple Choice

A 37-yr-old patient has just arrived in the postanesthesia recovery unit (PACU) after a thyroidectomy. Which information about the patient is most important to communicate to the surgeon?

• A)Difficult to awaken.
• B)Increasing neck swelling.
• C)Reports 7/10 incisional pain.
• D)Cardiac rate 112 beats/minute.

---

Definitions:

Psychasthenia

An obsolete psychological term once used to describe a condition with symptoms including excessive doubts, compulsions, obsessions, and anxieties.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)

A widely used psychometric test for assessing personality traits and psychopathology.

Projective Test

A type of personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, ideally revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts.

Psychological Terms

Vocabulary used to describe concepts, processes, and disorders related to individual and collective human behavior and mental processes.