you are the surgical nurse caring for a 65 year old female patient who is postoperative day 1 following a thyroidectomy during your shift assessment t
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Nursing Elites

ATI RN

ATI Fluid Electrolyte and Acid-Base Regulation

1. You are the surgical nurse caring for a 65-year-old female patient who is postoperative day 1 following a thyroidectomy. During your shift assessment, the patient complains of tingling in her lips and fingers. She tells you that she has an intermittent spasm in her wrist and hand and she exhibits increased muscle tone. What electrolyte imbalance should you first suspect?

Correct answer: B

Rationale:

2. Diagnostic testing has been ordered to differentiate between normal anion gap acidosis and high anion gap acidosis in an acutely ill patient. What health problem typically precedes normal anion gap acidosis?

Correct answer: D

Rationale:

3. You are called to your patients room by a family member who voices concern about the patients status. On assessment, you find the patient tachypnic, lethargic, weak, and exhibiting a diminished cognitive ability. You also find 3+ pitting edema. What electrolyte imbalance is the most plausible cause of this patients signs and symptoms?

Correct answer: C

Rationale:

4. You are performing an admission assessment on an older adult patient newly admitted for end-stage liver disease. What principle should guide your assessment of the patient's skin turgor?

Correct answer: C

Rationale: Inelastic skin is a normal change of aging. However, this does not mean that skin turgor cannot be assessed in older patients. Dehydration, not overhydration, causes inelastic skin with tenting. Overhydration, not dehydration, causes the skin to appear edematous and spongy. Choice A is incorrect because overhydration is not common among healthy older adults. Choice B is incorrect because dehydration leads to inelastic skin, not sponginess. Choice D is incorrect as skin turgor assessment can be done in patients of any age, including those over 70.

5. A gerontologic nurse is teaching students about the high incidence and prevalence of dehydration in older adults. What factors contribute to this phenomenon? Select all that do not apply.

Correct answer: D

Rationale:

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