Nokea
A newly admitted patient with type 1 diabetes asks the nurse what caused her diabetes. When the nurse is explaining to the patient the etiology of type 1 diabetes, what process should the nurse describe?
- A. The tissues in your body are resistant to the action of insulin, making the glucose levels in your blood increase.
- B. Damage to your pancreas causes an increase in the amount of glucose that it releases, and there is not enough insulin to control it.
- C. The amount of glucose that your body makes overwhelms your pancreas and decreases your production of insulin.
- D. Destruction of special cells in the pancreas causes a decrease in insulin production. Glucose levels rise because insulin normally breaks it down.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the destruction of pancreatic beta cells, resulting in decreased insulin production, unchecked glucose production by the liver, and fasting hyperglycemia. Also, glucose derived from food cannot be stored in the liver and remains circulating in the blood, which leads to postprandial hyperglycemia. Type 2 diabetes involves insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion. The body does not make glucose.
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A 15-year-old child is brought to the emergency department with symptoms of hyperglycemia and is subsequently diagnosed with diabetes. Based on the fact that the childs pancreatic beta cells are being destroyed, the patient would be diagnosed with what type of diabetes?
- A. Type 1 diabetes
- B. Type 2 diabetes
- C. Noninsulin-dependent diabetes
- D. Prediabetes
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Beta cell destruction is the hallmark of type 1 diabetes. Noninsulin-dependent diabetes is synonymous with type 2 diabetes, which involves insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion, but not beta cell destruction. Prediabetes is characterized by normal glucose metabolism, but a previous history of hyperglycemia, often during illness or pregnancy.
An older adult patient with type 2 diabetes is brought to the emergency department by his daughter. The patient is found to have a blood glucose level of 623 mg/dL. The patients daughter reports that the patient recently had a gastrointestinal virus and has been confused for the last 3 hours. The diagnosis of hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS) is made. What nursing action would be a priority?
- A. Administration of antihypertensive medications
- B. Administering sodium bicarbonate intravenously
- C. Reversing acidosis by administering insulin
- D. Fluid and electrolyte replacement
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The overall approach to HHS includes fluid replacement, correction of electrolyte imbalances, and insulin administration. Antihypertensive medications are not indicated, as hypotension generally accompanies HHS due to dehydration. Sodium bicarbonate is not administered to patients with HHS, as their plasma bicarbonate level is usually normal. Insulin administration plays a less important role in the treatment of HHS because it is not needed for reversal of acidosis, as in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
A patient has been living with type 2 diabetes for several years, and the nurse realizes that the patient is likely to have minimal contact with the health care system. In order to ensure that the patient maintains adequate blood sugar control over the long term, the nurse should recommend which of the following?
- A. Participation in a support group for persons with diabetes
- B. Regular consultation of websites that address diabetes management
- C. Weekly telephone check-ins with an endocrinologist
- D. Participation in clinical trials relating to antihyperglycemics
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Participation in support groups is encouraged for patients who have had diabetes for many years as well as for those who are newly diagnosed. This is more interactive and instructive than simply consulting websites. Weekly telephone contact with an endocrinologist is not realistic in most cases. Participation in research trials may or may not be beneficial and appropriate, depending on patients circumstances.
A diabetes nurse is assessing a patients knowledge of self-care skills. What would be the most appropriate way for the educator to assess the patients knowledge of nutritional therapy in diabetes?
- A. Ask the patient to describe an optimally healthy meal.
- B. Ask the patient to keep a food diary and review it with the nurse.
- C. Ask the patients family what he typically eats.
- D. Ask the patient to describe a typical days food intake.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Reviewing the patients actual food intake is the most accurate method of gauging the patients diet.
A medical nurse is aware of the need to screen specific patients for their risk of hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS). In what patient population does hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome most often occur?
- A. Patients who are obese and who have no known history of diabetes
- B. Patients with type 1 diabetes and poor dietary control
- C. Adolescents with type 2 diabetes and sporadic use of antihyperglycemics
- D. Middle-aged or older people with either type 2 diabetes or no known history of diabetes
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: HHS occurs most often in older people (50 to 70 years of age) who have no known history of diabetes or who have type 2 diabetes.