A 65-year-old patient with a history of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) presents to the clinic with complaints of intermittent claudication in the right leg. Which of the following management strategies should the nurse prioritize to improve the patient’s condition?
Encourage the patient to engage in regular low-impact exercise.
Advise the patient to limit fluid intake to prevent edema.
Instruct the patient to wear tight-fitting shoes to improve circulation.
Recommend strict bed rest to minimize pain.
The Correct Answer is A
Choice A reason: Low-impact exercise, like walking, enhances collateral circulation in PAD, increasing blood flow to ischemic muscles. It reduces claudication by stimulating angiogenesis and improving endothelial function, a cornerstone of evidence-based management to alleviate symptoms effectively.
Choice B reason: Limiting fluid intake addresses edema, not a primary PAD issue, which involves arterial insufficiency, not venous stasis. This strategy lacks scientific support for claudication relief, as hydration status doesn’t directly influence arterial perfusion.
Choice C reason: Tight shoes restrict circulation, worsening PAD by compressing arteries and exacerbating ischemia. Proper footwear is essential, but constriction contradicts vascular physiology, potentially increasing pain and tissue damage rather than improving blood flow.
Choice D reason: Bed rest reduces activity, promoting stasis and deconditioning in PAD, worsening claudication. Immobility decreases muscle pump action and collateral flow, conflicting with evidence that exercise improves symptoms, making this detrimental to recovery.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
Choice A reason: Acetaminophen reduces fever, but 101.2°F isn’t critical in sepsis, where hypotension (90/56 mmHg) signals shock. Addressing fever alone ignores systemic instability, delaying urgent intervention for a deteriorating patient needing comprehensive management.
Choice B reason: Hypotension (90/56 mmHg) and tachypnea (34 breaths/min) indicate septic shock, requiring immediate escalation. Notifying the provider ensures rapid fluid resuscitation and vasopressors, critical in gram-negative sepsis to reverse hypoperfusion and prevent organ failure.
Choice C reason: Pulse oximetry assesses oxygenation, useful in sepsis with tachypnea. However, hypotension is more immediately life-threatening, prioritizing provider notification for systemic treatment over a single parameter check that delays broader stabilization efforts.
Choice D reason: IV antibiotics target sepsis’s cause, but a scheduled dose doesn’t address acute hypotension urgency. Provider notification supersedes routine administration, as shock requires fluids and pressors now, not just infection control, to save the patient.
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
Choice A reason: Furosemide, a loop diuretic, increases renal workload, risking kidney injury. Creatinine rises (>1.2 mg/dL) with reduced glomerular filtration, a critical marker to monitor for nephrotoxicity or dehydration in heart failure patients.
Choice B reason: Platelets (150,000-450,000/µL) assess clotting, unaffected by furosemide directly. Diuretics alter volume, not hematopoiesis, so monitoring platelets is irrelevant unless bleeding or unrelated conditions complicate the patient’s status.
Choice C reason: Chloride may drop with furosemide, but it’s less critical than creatinine. Hypochloremia affects acid-base balance, yet renal function takes priority, as kidney damage has broader, immediate implications in therapy.
Choice D reason: RBC count reflects anemia, not furosemide’s primary effects. Diuretics cause hemoconcentration if overused, but creatinine better captures renal impact, making red cell monitoring secondary in this context.
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