Brunner's Ch 72: Emergency Nursing Flashcards
Which patient should the nurse prioritize as needing emergent treatment, assuming no other injuries are present except the ones outlined below?
A) A patient with a blunt chest trauma with some difficulty breathing
B) A patient with a sore neck who was immobilized in the field on a backboard with a cervical collar
C) A patient with a possible fractured tibia with adequate pedal pulses
D) A patient with an acute onset of confusion
A) A patient with a blunt chest trauma with some difficulty breathing
The patient with blunt chest trauma possibly has a compromised airway. Establishment and maintenance of a patent airway and adequate ventilation is prioritized over other health problems, including skeletal injuries and changes in cognition.
The nurse observes that the family members of a patient who was injured in an accident are blaming each other for the circumstances leading up to the accident. The nurse appropriately lets the family members express their feelings of responsibility, while explaining that there was probably little they could do to prevent the injury. In what stage of crisis is this family? A) Anxiety and denial B) Remorse and guilt C) Anger D) Grief
B) Remorse and guilt
Remorse and guilt are natural processes of the stages of a crisis and should be facilitated for the family members to process the crisis. The familys sense of blame and responsibility are more suggestive of guilt than anger, grief, or anxiety.
A patient is brought to the ED by ambulance with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The nurse knows that the most common hollow organ injured in this type of injury is what? A) Liver B) Small bowel C) Stomach D) Large bowel
B) Small bowel
Penetrating abdominal wounds have a high incidence of injury to hollow organs, especially the small bowel. The liver is also injured frequently, but it is a solid organ.
A patient has been brought to the ED with multiple trauma after a motor vehicle accident. After immediate threats to life have been addressed, the nurse and trauma team should take what action?
A) Perform a rapid physical assessment.
B) Initiate health education.
C) Perform diagnostic imaging.
D) Establish the circumstances of the accident.
A) Perform a rapid physical assessment.
Once immediate threats to life have been corrected, a rapid physical examination is done to identify injuries and priorities of treatment. Health education is initiated later in the care process and diagnostic imaging would take place after a rapid physical assessment. It is not the care teams responsibility to determine the circumstances of the accident.
The nursing educator is reviewing the signs and symptoms of heat stroke with a group of nurses who provide care in a desert region. The educator should describe what sign or symptom?
A) Hypertension with a wide pulse pressure
B) Anhidrosis
C) Copious diuresis
D) Cheyne-Stokes respirations
B) Anhidrosis
Heat stroke is manifested by anhidrosis confusion, bizarre behavior, coma, elevated body temperature, hot dry skin, tachypnea, hypotension, and tachycardia. This health problem is not associated with anhidrosis or Cheyne-Stokes respirations.
A patient is brought to the ED by ambulance after swallowing highly acidic toilet bowl cleaner 2 hours earlier. The patient is alert and oriented. What is the care teams most appropriate treatment? A) Administering syrup of ipecac B) Performing a gastric lavage C) Giving milk to drink D) Referring to psychiatry
C) Giving milk to drink
A patient who has swallowed an acidic substance, such as toilet bowl cleaner, may be given milk or water to drink for dilution. Gastric lavage must be performed within 1 hour of ingestion. A psychiatric consult may be considered once the patient is physically stable and it is deemed appropriate by the physician. Syrup of ipecac is no longer used in clinical settings.
A patient is admitted to the ED with suspected alcohol intoxication. The ED nurse is aware of the need to assess for conditions that can mimic acute alcohol intoxication. In light of this need, the nurse should perform what action?
A) Check the patients blood glucose level.
B) Assess for a documented history of major depression.
C) Determine whether the patient has ingested a corrosive substance.
D) Arrange for assessment of serum potassium levels.
A) Check the patients blood glucose level.
Hypoglycemia can mimic alcohol intoxication and should be assessed in a patient suspected of alcohol intoxication. Potassium imbalances, depression, and poison ingestion are not noted to mimic the characteristic signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication.
The paramedics bring a patient who has suffered a sexual assault to the ED. What is important for the sexual assault nurse examiner to do when assessing a sexual assault victim?
A) Respect the patients privacy during assessment.
B) Shave all pubic hair for laboratory analysis.
C) Place items for evidence in plastic bags.
D) Bathe the patient before the examination.
A) Respect the patients privacy during assessment.
The patients privacy and sensitivity must be respected, because the patient will be experiencing a stress response to the assault. Pubic hair is combed or trimmed for sampling. Paper bags are used for evidence collection because plastic bags retain moisture, which promotes mold and mildew that can destroy evidence. Bathing the patient before the examination would destroy or remove key evidence.
A patient with a history of major depression is brought to the ED by her parents. Which of the following nursing actions is most appropriate?
A) Noting that symptoms of physical illness are not relevant to the current diagnosis
B) Asking the patient if she has ever thought about taking her own life
C) Conducting interviews in a brief and direct manner
D) Arranging for the patient to spend time alone to consider her feelings
B) Asking the patient if she has ever thought about taking her own life
Establishing if the patient has suicidal thoughts or intents helps identify the level of depression and intervention. Physical symptoms are relevant and should be explored. Allow the patient to express feelings, and conduct the interview at a comfortable pace for the patient. Never leave the patient alone, because suicide is usually committed in solitude.
A triage nurse is talking to a patient when the patient begins choking on his lunch. The patient is coughing forcefully. What should the nurse do?
A) Stand him up and perform the abdominal thrust maneuver from behind.
B) Lay him down, straddle him, and perform the abdominal thrust maneuver.
C) Leave him to get assistance.
D) Stay with him and encourage him, but not intervene at this time.
D) Stay with him and encourage him, but not intervene at this time.
If the patient is coughing, he should be able to dislodge the object or cause a complete obstruction. If complete obstruction occurs, the nurse should perform the abdominal thrust maneuver with the patient standing. If the patient is unconscious, the nurse should lay the patient down. A nurse should never leave a choking patient alone.
You are a floor nurse caring for a patient with alcohol withdrawal syndrome. What would be an appropriate nursing action to minimize the potential for hallucinations?
A) Engage the patient in a process of health education.
B) Administer opioid analgesics as ordered.
C) Place the patient in a private, well-lit room.
D) Provide television or a radio as therapeutic distraction
C) Place the patient in a private, well-lit room.
The patient should be placed in a quiet single room with lights on and in a calm nonstressful environment. TV and radio stimulation should be avoided. Analgesics are not normally necessary, and would potentially contribute to hallucinations. Health education would be inappropriate while the patient is experiencing acute withdrawal.
An obtunded patient is admitted to the ED after ingesting bleach. The nurse should prepare to assist with what intervention?
A) Prompt administration of an antidote
B) Gastric lavage
C) Administration of activated charcoal
D) Helping the patient drink large amounts of water
D) Helping the patient drink large amounts of water
The patient who has ingested a corrosive poison, such as bleach, is given water or milk to drink for dilution. Gastric lavage is not used to treat ingestion of corrosives and activated charcoal is ineffective. There is no antidote for a corrosive substance such as bleach.
A 6-year-old is admitted to the ED after being rescued from a pond after falling through the ice while ice skating. What action should the nurse perform while rewarming the patient?
A) Assessing the patients oral temperature frequently
B) Ensuring continuous ECG monitoring
C) Massaging the patients skin surfaces to promote circulation
D) Administering bronchodilators by nebulizer
B) Ensuring continuous ECG monitoring
A hypothermic patient requires continuous ECG monitoring and assessment of core temperatures with an esophageal probe, bladder, or rectal thermometer. Massage is not performed and bronchodilators would normally be insufficient to meet the patients respiratory needs.
A male patient with multiple injuries is brought to the ED by ambulance. He has had his airway stabilized and is breathing on his own. The ED nurse does not see any active bleeding, but should suspect internal hemorrhage based on what finding?
A) Absence of bruising at contusion sites
B) Rapid pulse and decreased capillary refill
C) Increased BP with narrowed pulse pressure
D) Sudden diaphoresis
B) Rapid pulse and decreased capillary refill
The nurse would anticipate that the pulse would increase and BP would decrease. Urine output would also decrease. An absence of bruising and the presence of diaphoresis would not suggest internal hemorrhage.
A 13-year-old is being admitted to the ED after falling from a roof and sustaining blunt abdominal injuries. To assess for internal injury in the patients peritoneum, the nurse should anticipate what diagnostic test? A) Radiograph B) Computed tomography (CT) scan C) Complete blood count (CBC) D) Barium swallow
B) Computed tomography (CT) scan
CT scan of the abdomen, diagnostic peritoneal lavage, and abdominal ultrasound are appropriate diagnostic tools to assess intra-abdominal injuries. X-rays do not yield sufficient data and a CBC would not reveal the presence of intraperitoneal injury.
A patient is brought to the ER in an unconscious state. The physician notes that the patient is in need of emergency surgery. No family members are present, and the patient does not have identification. What action by the nurse is most important regarding consent for treatment?
A) Ask the social worker to come and sign the consent.
B) Contact the police to obtain the patients identity.
C) Obtain a court order to treat the patient.
D) Clearly document LOC and health status on the patients chart.
D) Clearly document LOC and health status on the patients chart.
When patients are unconscious and in critical condition, the condition and situation should be documented to administer treatment quickly and timely when no consent can be obtained by usual routes. A social worker is not asked to sign the consent. Finding the patients identity is not a priority. Obtaining a court order would take too long.
