The physician has ordered Dopamine for a patient in the ICU who has suffered a spinal cord injury. The nurse determines that the drug is having the desired effect when the assessment findings are:

A patient with a spinal cord lesion at T4 tells the nurse that he has a headache and feels flushed. The BP is significantly elevated to 190/100. The first action by the nurse is to:

A client with a spinal cord injury at the level C3 to C4 is being cared for by the nurse in the emergency department. What is the priority nursing action?

A patient with a neck fracture at the C3 level is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) following initial treatment in the emergency room. During the initial assessment of the patient, the nurse recognizes the presence of spinal shock on finding:

A nurse in the ED is assessing a client who is taking warfarin and experiencing rectal bleeding. Which of the following drugs should the nurse anticipate administering to the client?

A nurse is planning the care of a patient with heart failure. Which of the following interventions does the nurse include in the plan?

The nurse is caring for a patient who is on mechanical ventilation and the high pressure alarm is sounding. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Which observation indicates to the nurse that a patient with quadriplegia spouse understands performance of assistive coughing (quad cough)?

After brain death has been determined, which of the following is a priority nursing action in caring for an organ donor?

The nurse interprets which finding as an early sign of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in a client at risk?

The nurse is managing a donor patient six hours prior to the scheduled harvesting of the patient's organs. Which assessment finding requires immediate action by the nurse?

A patient has been brought to the emergency department with a life-threatening chest injury. What action by the nurse takes priority?

A patient is admitted to the emergency department with a spinal cord injury at the level of T2 following a traumatic fall from a roof. Which finding is of most concern to the nurse?

After a craniotomy, the nurse assesses the patient and finds generalized edema, decreased urine output, acute confusion, and muscle weakness. The client has IV fluids running at 75 mL/hr. What action should the nurse take first?

Why does the healthcare provider prescribe a ventilator setting to maintain partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2) between 35 and 38 mmHg for a patient with traumatic brain injury?

A nurse applies a painful stimulus to the nailbeds of an unconscious patient. The patient responds with extension of the arms and legs, pronation of the arms, and plantar flexion. The nurse documents this as:

A nurse is caring for four patients in the neurologic intensive care unit. After receiving the hand-off report, which patient does the nurse see first?

A client is on mechanical ventilation and the client's spouse wonders why famotidine is needed since the client "only has lung problems." What response by the nurse is best?

A nurse is caring for a patient with a head injury who has developed diabetes insipidus and is receiving desmopressin. The nurse understands the therapeutic outcome is a decrease in:

When planning care for a patient on a mechanical ventilator, the nurse understands that the application of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) to the ventilator settings has which therapeutic effect?

A nurse assesses a patient who experienced a spinal cord injury at the T5 level 24 hours ago. Which manifestations would the nurse correlate with neurogenic shock? Select all that apply.

To evaluate the effectiveness of mannitol, the nurse should monitor:

A patient with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome is mechanically ventilated. Coarse crackles are heard over upper airways, the SaO2 has dropped to 85%, and the patient is agitated. Which action should the nurse take?