A patient's family members are in the patient room when the patient has a cardiac arrest and emergency personnel start resuscitation measures. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?
- A. Have the family wait outside the patient room with a designated staff member to provide emotional support
- B. Keep the family in the room and assign a member of the team to explain the care given and answer questions
- C. Ask the family members about whether they would prefer to remain in the patient room or wait outside the room
- D. Advise the family members that patients are comforted by having family members present during resuscitation efforts
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Assessing family preferences first respects their emotional needs and informs subsequent actions. Some families benefit from staying, while others prefer to leave, and this decision guides whether to provide support in or out of the room.
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The nurse is assessing a patient admitted to the emergency department (ED) with a broken arm and facial bruises and notes multiple bruising in various stages of healing. Which of the following responses by the nurse is most appropriate?
- A. Is someone at home hurting you?
- B. You should not return to your home
- C. Would you like to see a social worker?
- D. I have to report this abuse to the police
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Multiple bruises in various stages of healing suggest possible abuse. The nurse's initial response should be to assess further by asking about potential abuse sensitively, before taking other actions like reporting or involving social services.
After spending the previous weekend camping out with friends, a patient presents to the emergency department (ED) and is diagnosed with flaccid ascending paralysis. Based upon this information, the nurse concludes that the patient has been bitten by which of the following?
- A. Spider
- B. Wasp
- C. Tick
- D. Snake
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Flaccid ascending paralysis developing 5-7 days after tick exposure is characteristic of tick paralysis, caused by a neurotoxin from wood or dog ticks. Removal of the tick typically reverses symptoms within 48-72 hours.
The nurse is preparing to rewarm a patient with hypothermia. Which of the following actions should the nurse implement?
- A. Attach a cardiac monitor
- B. Insert a urinary catheter
- C. Assist with endotracheal intubation
- D. Prepare sympathomimetic drugs for emergency administration
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Rewarming can cause dysrhythmias in hypothermic patients, so cardiac monitoring is essential to detect and treat these complications. Urinary catheterization and intubation are not routinely required, and sympathomimetics increase dysrhythmia risk.
The nurse is assessing a patient with hypothermia. Which of the following assessments should the nurse expect to find?
- A. Hypertension
- B. Reddened, swollen extremities
- C. Hyperventilation
- D. Bradycardia
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Hypothermia causes bradycardia due to slowed metabolic processes. Hypotension, blue or white extremities, and hypoventilation are more typical, not hypertension, reddened extremities, or hyperventilation.
The nurse is rewarming a patient who arrived in the emergency department (ED) with a temperature of 29°C (84.2°F) and no audible heart sounds. Which of the following temperatures should the nurse rewarm the patient to, prior to a pronouncement of death?
- A. 30°C (86.0°F)
- B. 32°C (89.6°F)
- C. 34°C (93.2°F)
- D. 36°C (96.8°F)
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Patients with severe hypothermia must be rewarmed to at least 32°C (89.6°F) before pronouncing death, as hypothermia can mimic death by suppressing vital signs, and ventricular fibrillation is a common cause of apparent death.
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