The student nurse is caring for a client who has serial sputum tests ordered. The student asks their instructor why the sputum tests have to be repeated on successive days. What would be the instructor's best response?
A) "Some clients cannot produce enough sputum to be tested, so successive samples may be needed."
B) "The sputum produced today may be from the left lung and tomorrow it may be from the right lung."
C) "Sometimes two tests are needed to verify a positive finding."
D) "A negative sputum test does not always mean that there is no disease present, so more than one test may be needed."

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A negative sputum test does not always rule out the presence of a disease, and the test may need to be repeated multiple times to increase the chances of detecting the disease.

The Student Nurse Is Caring for a Client Who Has