The 25-year-old male client who has been in the trauma intensive care

The 25-year-old male client who has been in the trauma intensive care unit (ICU) for 3 weeks is confused and agitated. The nurse knows that this can happen to clients in an ICU setting due to:

1. Boredom
2. Sensory overload
3. Pain
4. A lack of stimulation

ANSWER

ANS: 2
When a person receives multiple sensory stimuli and cannot perceptually disregard or selectively ignore some stimuli, sensory overload occurs. Excessive sensory stimulation prevents the brain from appropriately responding to or ignoring certain stimuli. Because of the multitude of stimuli leading to overload, the person no longer perceives the environment in a way that makes sense