Respiratory Ch. 23
The public health nurse is administering Mantoux tests to children who are being registered for kindergarten in the community. How should the nurse administer this test?
Administer intradermal injections into the childrens inner forearms.
The nurse is providing discharge teaching for a patient who developed a pulmonary embolism after total knee surgery. The patient has been converted from heparin to sodium warfarin (Coumadin) anticoagulant therapy. What should the nurse teach the client?
Anticoagulant therapy usually lasts between 3 and 6 months.
When assessing for substances that are known to harm workers lungs, the occupational health nurse should assess their potential exposure to which of the following?
Asbestos
The nurse is caring for a patient who is receiving oxygen therapy for pneumonia. How should the nurse best assess whether the patient is hypoxemic?
Assess the patients oxygen saturation level.
An 87-year-old patient has been hospitalized with pneumonia. Which nursing action would be a priority in this patients plan of care?
Cautious hydration
The perioperative nurse is writing a care plan for a patient who has returned from surgery 2 hours prior. Which measure should the nurse implement to most decrease the patients risk of developing pulmonary emboli (PE)?
Early ambulation
The nurse is caring for a patient in the ICU admitted with ARDS after exposure to toxic fumes from a hazardous spill at work. The patient has become hypotensive. What is the cause of this complication to the ARDS treatment?
Hypovolemia secondary to leakage of fluid into the interstitial spaces
The nurse is caring for a patient at risk for atelectasis. The nurse implements a first-line measure to prevent atelectasis development in the patient. What is an example of a first-line measure to minimize atelectasis?
Incentive spirometry
A critical-care nurse is caring for a patient diagnosed with pneumonia as a surgical complication. The nurses assessment reveals that the patient has an increased work of breathing due to copious tracheobronchial secretions. What should the nurse encourage the patient to do?
Increase oral fluids unless contraindicated.
The home care nurse is monitoring a patient discharged home after resolution of a pulmonary embolus. For what potential complication would the home care nurse be most closely monitoring this patient?
Residual effects of compromised oxygenation
A new employee asks the occupational health nurse about measures to prevent inhalation exposure of the substances. Which statement by the nurse will decrease the patients exposure risk to toxic substances?
Wear protective attire and devices when working with a toxic substance.
The nurse at a long-term care facility is assessing each of the residents. Which resident most likely faces the greatest risk for aspiration?
A resident who suffered a severe stroke several weeks ago
A patient with thoracic trauma is admitted to the ICU. The nurse notes the patients chest and neck are swollen and there is a crackling sensation when palpated. The nurse consequently identifies the presence of subcutaneous emphysema. If this condition becomes severe and threatens airway patency, what intervention is indicated?
A tracheostomy
A patient presents to the ED stating she was in a boating accident about 3 hours ago. Now the patient has complaints of headache, fatigue, and the feeling that he just cant breathe enough. The nurse notes that the patient is restless and tachycardic with an elevated blood pressure. This patient may be in the early stages of what respiratory problem?
Acute respiratory failure
A hospital has been the site of an increased incidence of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP). What is an important measure for the prevention of HAP?
Administration of pneumococcal vaccine to vulnerable individuals
A perioperative nurse is caring for a postoperative patient. The patient has a shallow respiratory pattern and is reluctant to cough or to begin mobilizing. The nurse should address the patients increased risk for what complication?
Atelectasis
While planning a patients care, the nurse identifies nursing actions to minimize the patients pleuritic pain. Which intervention should the nurse include in the plan of care?
Avoid actions that will cause the patient to breathe deeply.
The nurse is caring for a patient suspected of having ARDS. What is the most likely diagnostic test ordered in the early stages of this disease to differentiate the patients symptoms from those of a cardiac etiology?
Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level
The nurse is caring for a patient who is scheduled for a lobectomy for a diagnosis of lung cancer. While assisting with a subclavian vein central line insertion, the nurse notes the clients oxygen saturation rapidly dropping. The patient complains of shortness of breath and becomes tachypneic. The nurse suspects a pneumothorax has developed. Further assessment findings supporting the presence of a pneumothorax include what?
Diminished or absent breath sounds on the affected side
The nurse is assessing a patient who has a 35 pack-year history of cigarette smoking. In light of this known risk factor for lung cancer, what statement should prompt the nurse to refer the patient for further assessment?
Lately, I have this cough that just never seems to go away.
A patient is brought to the ED by ambulance after a motor vehicle accident in which the patient received blunt trauma to the chest. The patient is in acute respiratory failure, is intubated, and is transferred to the ICU. What parameters of care should the nurse monitor most closely? Select all that apply.
Level of consciousness Arterial blood gases Vital signs
A patient is receiving thrombolytic therapy for the treatment of pulmonary emboli. What is the best way for the nurse to assess the patients oxygenation status at the bedside?
Monitor pulse oximetry readings.
A firefighter was trapped in a fire and is admitted to the ICU for smoke inhalation. After 12 hours, the firefighter is exhibiting signs of ARDS and is intubated. What other supportive measures are initiated in a patient with ARDS?
Nutritional support
A gerontologic nurse is teaching a group of medical nurses about the high incidence and mortality of pneumonia in older adults. What is a contributing factor to this that the nurse should describe?
Older adults often lack the classic signs and symptoms of pneumonia.
The nurse is caring for an 82-year-old patient with a diagnosis of tracheobronchitis. The patient begins complaining of right-sided chest pain that gets worse when he coughs or breathes deeply. Vital signs are within normal limits. What would you suspect this patient is experiencing?
Pleuritic pain
The nurse is reviewing the electronic health record of a patient with an empyema. What health problem in the patients history is most likely to have caused the empyema?
Pneumonia
The nurse is assessing an adult patient following a motor vehicle accident. The nurse observes that the patient has an increased use of accessory muscles and is complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath. The nurse should recognize the possibility of what condition?
Pneumothorax
A patient has been brought to the ED by the paramedics. The patient is suspected of having ARDS. What intervention should the nurse first anticipate?
Preparing to assist with intubating the patient
A patient in the ICU is status post embolectomy after a pulmonary embolus. What assessment parameter does the nurse monitor most closely on a patient who is postoperative following an embolectomy?
Pulmonary arterial pressure
A patient who involved in a workplace accident suffered a penetrating wound of the chest that led to acute respiratory failure. What goal of treatment should the care team prioritize when planning this patients care?
Restoration of adequate gas exchange
A 54-year-old man has just been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. The patient asks the nurse why the doctor is not offering surgery as a treatment for his cancer. What fact about lung cancer treatment should inform the nurses response?
Small cell cancer of the lung grows rapidly and metastasizes early and extensively.
The nurse caring for a patient recently diagnosed with lung disease encourages the patient not to smoke. What is the primary rationale behind this nursing action?
Smoking damages the ciliary cleansing mechanism.
An x-ray of a trauma patient reveals rib fractures and the patient is diagnosed with a small flail chest injury. Which intervention should the nurse include in the patients plan of care?
Suction the patients airway secretions.
The nurse is caring for a 46-year-old patient recently diagnosed with the early stages of lung cancer. The nurse is aware that the preferred method of treating patients with nonsmall cell tumors is what?
Surgical resection
An adult patient has tested positive for tuberculosis (TB). While providing patient teaching, what information should the nurse prioritize?
The importance of adhering closely to the prescribed medication regimen
The nurse is caring for a patient who has been in a motor vehicle accident and the care team suspects that the patient has developed pleurisy. Which of the nurses assessment findings would best corroborate this diagnosis?
The patients pain intensifies when he coughs or takes a deep breath.
A patient has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. After the physician discusses treatment options and leaves the room, the patient asks the nurse how the treatment is decided upon. What would be the nurses best response?
The type of treatment depends on the cell type of the cancer, the stage of the cancer, and the patients health status.
The school nurse is presenting a class on smoking cessation at the local high school. A participant in the class asks the nurse about the risk of lung cancer in those who smoke. What response related to risk for lung cancer in smokers is most accurate?
The younger you are when you start smoking, the higher your risk of lung cancer.
The occupational health nurse is assessing new employees at a company. What would be important to assess in employees with a potential occupational respiratory exposure to a toxin? Select all that apply.
Time frame of exposure Type of respiratory protection used Breath sounds Intensity of exposure
A client presents to the walk-in clinic complaining of a dry, irritating cough and production of a minute amount of mucus-like sputum. The patient complains of soreness in her chest in the sternal area. The nurse should suspect that the primary care provider will assess the patient for what health problem?
Tracheobronchitis
