Nokea
Before administering a client's morning dose of Lanoxin (digoxin), the nurse checks the apical pulse rate and finds a rate of 54. The appropriate nursing intervention is to:
- A. Record the pulse rate and administer the medication
- B. Administer the medication and monitor the heart rate
- C. Withhold the medication and notify the doctor
- D. Withhold the medication until the heart rate increases
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A pulse rate below 60 bpm indicates bradycardia, a contraindication for digoxin due to the risk of worsening heart block. The nurse should withhold the dose and notify the physician.
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A client is being discharged from the hospital tomorrow following a colon resection with a left colostomy. The nurse knows that the client understands the discharge teaching about care of her colostomy when she says:
- A. I know that I am not supposed to irrigate my colostomy.'
- B. My stool will be soft like paste.'
- C. My stoma should be red and slightly raised.'
- D. The skin around my stoma may become irritated from the enzymes in my stool.'
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The healthy stoma should be red and slightly raised. If it begins to turn dark or blue, the client should see the physician immediately.
The nurse is teaching a client with hypertension about dietary modifications. Which food choice indicates a need for further teaching?
- A. Fresh apple
- B. Baked chicken
- C. Canned soup
- D. Steamed broccoli
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Canned soup is high in sodium, which exacerbates hypertension, indicating a need for further teaching. Apple (A), chicken (B), and broccoli (D) are low-sodium and appropriate.
An 18-year-old client enters the emergency room complaining of coughing, chest tightness, dyspnea, and sputum production. On physical assessment, the nurse notes agitation, nasal flaring, tachypnea, and expiratory wheezing. These signs should alert the nurse to:
- A. A tension pneumothorax
- B. An asthma attack
- C. Pneumonia
- D. Pulmonary embolus
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A tension pneumothorax is an accumulation of air in the pleural space. Important physical assessment findings to confirm this condition include cyanosis, jugular vein distention, absent breath sounds on the affected side, distant heart sounds, and lowered blood pressure. Asthma is a disorder in which there is an airflow obstruction in the bronchioles and smaller bronchi secondary to bronchospasm, swelling of mucous membranes, and increased mucus production. Physical assessment reveals some important findings: agitation, nasal flaring, tachypnea, and expiratory wheezing. Pneumonia is an acute bacterial or viral infection that causes inflammation of the lung in the alveolar and interstitial tissue and results in consolidation. Specific assessment findings to confirm this condition include decreased chest expansion caused by pleuritic pain, dullness on percussion over consolidated areas, decreased breath sounds, and increased vocal fremitus. A pulmonary embolus is the passage of a foreign substance (blood clot, fat, air, or amniotic fluid) into the pulmonary artery or its branches, with subsequent obstruction of blood supply to lung tissue. Specific assessment findings that confirm this condition include tachypnea, tachycardia, crackles (rales), transient friction rub, diaphoresis, edema, and cyanosis.
While changing the dressing on a client's central line, the nurse notices redness and warmth at the needle insertion site. Which of the following actions would be appropriate to implement based on this finding?
- A. Discontinue the central line.
- B. Begin a peripheral IV.
- C. Document in the nurse's notes and notify the physician after redressing the site.
- D. Clean the site well and redress.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The nurse should always document findings and alert the physician to the findings as well. The physician may then initiate a new central line and order the current central line to be discontinued.
A client is diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis. The nurse should be prepared to administer which of the following IV solutions?
- A. D5 in normal saline
- B. D5W
- C. 0.9 normal saline
- D. D5 in lactated Ringer's
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A concentration of 0.9 NS is used to correct extracellular fluid depletion.