Prone or "flat"...

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that is my question. I'm getting conflicting info....if someone has just had an LP, are they to lie prone or supine? What is the answer NCLEX is looking for? In my Kaplan book, it states, position "flat for 2-3 hrs" BUT the video just verbalized to position the pt "prone"...I always thought the pt was to be positioned on their backs....anybody have the NCLEX answer?

Thx ~

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Specializes in Nursing Home ,Dementia Care,Neurology..

Well it's a long time since I saw one but it was flat on back for 2-3 hours so they did not get headache.Unless of course it's been changed.

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Its lateral position (with the back bowed at the edge of the exam table, knee flexed up to the abdomen, and head bent so the chin is resting on the chest)during the procedure(lumbar puncture) and supine position for 4-12 hours after the procedure. Thats what it says in Saunder's book.

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That is what I thought too....I hate the ambiguity...Kaplan says that post-op it progresses from Prone, to side-lying and THEN to supine/flat....

Some consistency would be nice when NCLEX demands that only ONE answer is correct....oh well. BAck to "eeny, meeny , miney, mo" logic.

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Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.

I am on an ortho floor and after LP or myelogram, our floor places the patient in a prone position with a pillow under the stomach, then to side lying, then flat on back.

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flat position

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