Your patient is complaining of respiratory distress. In ruling out congestive heart failure, the absence of swollen ankles would be a:
A) false positive finding.
B) false negative finding.
C) pertinent negative finding.
D) true positive finding.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A pertinent negative finding is a symptom or sign that would be expected to be present if a particular condition was present but is absent. The absence of swollen ankles is a pertinent negative finding in ruling out congestive heart failure because it would be expected to be present in CHF. Therefore, it helps to rule out CHF as a potential cause of the patient's respiratory distress.

Your Patient Is Complaining of Respiratory Distress