A 20-year-old male is in acute pain with renal colic. What does the nurse suspect is the most likely cause?
Hyperventilation
Nephrolithiasis
Urinary tract infection
Trauma
The Correct Answer is B
Choice A reason: Hyperventilation leads to respiratory alkalosis, causing symptoms like dizziness, paresthesia, or tetany due to decreased carbon dioxide levels. It does not cause renal colic, which involves severe, spasmodic flank pain typically from ureteral obstruction. This makes hyperventilation an incorrect cause for the patient’s acute pain presentation.
Choice B reason: Nephrolithiasis, or kidney stones, is the most likely cause of renal colic in a young male. Stones obstruct the ureter, triggering severe, intermittent flank pain radiating to the groin, often with hematuria or nausea. This matches the described acute pain, making nephrolithiasis the correct diagnosis for the patient’s symptoms.
Choice C reason: Urinary tract infections may cause dysuria, frequency, or suprapubic discomfort but rarely produce the severe, colicky flank pain characteristic of renal colic. While infections can coexist with stones, the primary presentation of acute, severe pain points to nephrolithiasis, making this a less likely primary cause.
Choice D reason: Trauma can cause renal pain or hematuria but typically presents with a history of injury and signs like bruising or hemodynamic instability. Renal colic’s hallmark is spontaneous, severe pain without trauma history, making trauma an unlikely cause for this patient’s acute presentation.
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Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Pyuria, urgency, and frequency are typical UTI symptoms, but elderly patients often present with atypical signs like confusion. Confusion is more prominent in this age group, so this is less specific and incorrect.
Choice B reason: Dysuria, frequency, and suprapubic pain are common UTI symptoms, but elderly patients may show confusion instead of classic signs. Confusion and frequency are more likely, so this is incorrect.
Choice C reason: In elderly patients (85 years), UTIs often cause confusion due to altered mental status, alongside frequency. Atypical symptoms like confusion are common, making this the correct manifestation for this age group.
Choice D reason: Hematuria and flank pain suggest complicated UTIs or kidney issues, not typical in elderly UTI presentation. Confusion and frequency are more expected, so this is incorrect.
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
Choice A reason: Hyperperfusion, or excessive renal blood flow, is not a common cause of prerenal AKI. Prerenal AKI results from reduced renal perfusion, like hypovolemia or hypotension, not increased flow, making this an incorrect cause for the condition.
Choice B reason: Ischemia, due to reduced renal perfusion from hypovolemia, hypotension, or shock, is the most common cause of prerenal AKI. It impairs glomerular filtration, leading to acute renal dysfunction, reversible with restored perfusion, making this the correct cause.
Choice C reason: Nephrotoxic drugs cause intrinsic AKI by directly damaging renal tubules, not prerenal AKI, which stems from reduced blood flow. While significant, nephrotoxicity is less common than ischemic causes in prerenal AKI, making this incorrect.
Choice D reason: Urinary tract obstruction causes postrenal AKI by blocking urine outflow, not prerenal AKI, which involves pre-renal hypoperfusion. Obstruction is a distinct mechanism, less frequent than ischemia in prerenal cases, making this an incorrect cause.
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