A nurse is caring for a client who is in the emergency department with multiple traumatic injuries following a motor-vehicle crash. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?
Warm blood products prior to administration.
Establish a patent oral airway.
Create a sterile field for wound care.
Administer IV fluids to maintain blood pressure.
The Correct Answer is B
Choice A reason: Warming blood products prevents hypothermia during transfusion but is not the priority in a trauma patient. Airway management takes precedence, as oxygenation is critical to survival. Administering blood products comes later in the trauma algorithm, after securing the airway and stabilizing breathing, making this action secondary.
Choice B reason: Establishing a patent oral airway is the first priority in trauma care, following the ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation). A clear airway ensures oxygenation, critical for preventing hypoxia in a patient with multiple injuries. Without a patent airway, other interventions are ineffective, as oxygen delivery is essential for survival and organ function.
Choice C reason: Creating a sterile field for wound care is important to prevent infection but is not the first priority in a trauma patient. Airway and breathing take precedence, as immediate life-threatening issues like hypoxia or shock must be addressed before wound care, making this action lower in priority.
Choice D reason: Administering IV fluids to maintain blood pressure is part of the circulation phase in trauma care but follows airway and breathing stabilization. Without a patent airway, fluid administration cannot address hypoxia, a primary cause of mortality in trauma. This action is secondary to ensuring airway patency.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Reassuring the client about future children minimizes her current grief and loss, which is inappropriate during initial grieving. This dismisses the emotional significance of the stillbirth, potentially causing distress, making it an insensitive and incorrect action.
Choice B reason: Discouraging friends from seeing the newborn restricts the client’s support system and grieving process. Allowing such interactions can provide closure and comfort, so this action is counterproductive and insensitive, making it incorrect for supporting grief.
Choice C reason: Offering to take pictures of the newborn provides a tangible memory, supporting the client’s grieving process. This sensitive intervention validates the loss and aids emotional healing, aligning with best practices for stillbirth care, making it the correct action.
Choice D reason: Advising against discussing the stillbirth isolates the client and hinders grief processing. Open communication with family fosters support and healing, so this action is harmful and contradicts grief support principles, making it incorrect.
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
Choice A reason: Amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, typically causes hypotension via alpha-adrenergic blockade, not hypertension. Expecting blood pressure elevation shows misunderstanding, as its cardiovascular effects require monitoring for orthostatic changes, not hypertensive risks, in depression treatment.
Choice B reason: Acknowledging a 2-4 week delay for amitriptyline’s effect shows understanding, as tricyclics increase synaptic serotonin and norepinephrine gradually, requiring neuroplastic changes for mood improvement. This reflects accurate knowledge of the drug’s onset, critical for managing expectations in depression therapy.
Choice C reason: Taking amitriptyline on an empty stomach is incorrect, as food reduces gastrointestinal side effects like nausea. Its absorption is unaffected by food, but taking it with meals improves tolerability, indicating a misunderstanding of administration guidelines for effective therapy.
Choice D reason: Morning dosing of amitriptyline is incorrect, as its sedative effects, via histamine blockade, are best utilized at bedtime to aid sleep. Morning use may cause daytime drowsiness, reducing adherence, indicating a misunderstanding of its pharmacological profile in depression management.
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