ATI RN
ATI Fluid and Electrolytes
1. You are caring for a patient who has a diagnosis of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). Your patient's plan of care includes assessment of specific gravity every 4 hours. The results of this test will allow the nurse to assess what aspect of the patient's health?
- A. Nutritional status
- B. Potassium balance
- C. Calcium balance
- D. Fluid volume status
Correct answer: D
Rationale: Assessing the specific gravity in a patient with SIADH helps the nurse evaluate the patient's fluid volume status. Specific gravity indicates the concentration of solutes in the urine and can detect if the patient has a fluid volume deficit or excess. Nutritional status, potassium balance, and calcium balance are not directly assessed through specific gravity testing. Nutritional status is typically evaluated through dietary intake and anthropometric measurements. Potassium balance is assessed through blood tests and ECG monitoring. Calcium balance is evaluated through blood tests and bone density scans. Therefore, the correct answer is assessing fluid volume status through specific gravity testing.
2. The nurse is performing an oral examination on a preschool child. Which strategies should the nurse use to encourage the child to open the mouth for the examination? (Select all that apply.)
- A. Lightly brush the palate with a cotton swab
- B. Perform the examination in front of a mirror
- C. Let the child examine someone else's mouth first
- D. All of the above
Correct answer: D
Rationale: Using a cotton swab, allowing the child to observe, and demonstrating on someone else are effective ways to encourage a preschooler to open their mouth for examination.
3. The nurse is teaching a client to prevent future urinary tract infections (UTIs). What factor is most important to emphasize as the potential cause?
- A. Poor hygiene
- B. Constipation
- C. Urinary stasis
- D. Congenital anomalies
Correct answer: C
Rationale: Urinary stasis is the most important factor in the development of UTIs because it provides an environment for bacterial growth. While poor hygiene and congenital anomalies are contributing factors, preventing urinary stasis is key in UTI prevention.
4. The nurse instructs a client 5 days after a lumbar laminectomy with spinal fusion about how to move from a supine position to standing at the left side of the bed with a walker. Which of the following directions by the nurse is BEST?
- A. Raise the head of the bed so you are sitting straight up, bend your knees, and swing your legs to the side and then to the floor
- B. Rock your body from side to side, going further each time until you build up enough momentum to be lying on your right side, and then raise your trunk toward your toes
- C. Reach over to the left side rail with your right hand, pull your body onto its side, bend your upper leg so the foot is on the bed, and push down to elevate your trunk
- D. Focus on using your arms, the left elbow as a pivot with the left hand grasping the mattress edge and the right hand pushing on the mattress above the elbow, then slide your legs over the side of the mattress
Correct answer: C
Rationale: Choice C is the best direction provided by the nurse. This method involves reaching over to the left side rail with the right hand, pulling the body onto its side, bending the upper leg so the foot is on the bed, and pushing down to elevate the trunk. This approach helps maintain spinal alignment while moving from a lying to a standing position, reducing strain on the back. Choices A, B, and D involve movements that are not suitable for a client recovering from a lumbar laminectomy with spinal fusion and could potentially cause harm or discomfort.
5. Which congenital heart defect causes a "boot-shaped" heart on a chest x-ray?
- A. Tetralogy of Fallot
- B. Coarctation of the aorta
- C. Transposition of the great arteries
- D. Ventricular septal defect
Correct answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is A: Tetralogy of Fallot. Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect with four distinct abnormalities, often presents with a "boot-shaped" heart on chest x-ray due to right ventricular hypertrophy. This characteristic finding is due to the specific combination of defects in this condition. Coarctation of the aorta (choice B), Transposition of the great arteries (choice C), and Ventricular septal defect (choice D) do not typically result in a "boot-shaped" heart on a chest x-ray like Tetralogy of Fallot does.
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