After placing a client at 26-weeks gestation in the lithotomy position, the client complains of dizziness and becomes pale and diaphoretic. Which action should the nurse implement?
Place the client in the Trendelenburg position.
Remove the client's legs from the stirrups.
Instruct the client to take deep breaths.
Place a wedge under the client's hip.
The Correct Answer is D
A. Place the client in the Trendelenburg position: While this position may increase venous return, it does not address the underlying cause in a pregnant client, which is usually aortocaval compression by the uterus. Simply tilting the table may be less effective than proper lateral displacement.
B. Remove the client's legs from the stirrups: Removing the legs may relieve some discomfort but does not correct the maternal hypotension caused by pressure on the inferior vena cava. Additional interventions are needed to improve circulation.
C. Instruct the client to take deep breaths: Deep breathing may help with anxiety or mild shortness of breath but does not resolve the hemodynamic compromise caused by supine hypotensive syndrome.
D. Place a wedge under the client's hip: Placing a wedge under the right or left hip tilts the uterus off the inferior vena cava, improving venous return, cardiac output, and blood pressure. This is the priority action to relieve dizziness, pallor, and diaphoresis in a pregnant client at 26 weeks’ gestation.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
A. Palpate the client's suprapubic area for distention: Palpating for bladder distention helps determine if urinary retention is present, which is common in older men with possible benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Assessing retention is a priority because unresolved urinary obstruction can lead to hydronephrosis or kidney damage.
B. Instruct in effective techniques to cleanse the glans penis: Proper hygiene is important for preventing infection, especially in uncircumcised males, but it does not address the client’s primary problem of urinary retention and obstructive symptoms.
C. Obtain a urine specimen for culture and sensitivity: While urinary tract infections can occur in clients with urinary retention, the presenting symptoms here are more indicative of obstruction due to prostate enlargement. A culture may be ordered later, but not the first step.
D. Advise the client to maintain a voiding diary for one week: A voiding diary provides helpful long-term information about urinary patterns, but it does not address the acute issue of a bladder that may be distended and retaining urine.
Correct Answer is []
Explanation
• Nephrotic syndrome: The child’s rapid weight gain over two months, generalized edema, fatigue with minimal activity, and laboratory findings showing significant proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and mild hematuria strongly suggest nephrotic syndrome, which involves increased glomerular permeability and fluid retention.
• Administering intravenous albumin increases plasma oncotic pressure, helping to pull interstitial fluid back into the intravascular space, thereby reducing edema, improving circulatory volume, and supporting perfusion in a child with hypoalbuminemia.
• Provide a low-salt diet: Implementing a low-sodium diet is essential to help manage fluid retention associated with nephrotic syndrome, as excessive sodium intake worsens edema and may contribute to hypertension and further fluid overload.
• Daily weight: Monitoring daily weight provides a sensitive measure of fluid status and the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions, as even small changes in weight can reflect shifts in edema or fluid accumulation.
• Abdominal girth: Measuring abdominal girth regularly allows the nurse to track ascites and fluid accumulation in the peritoneal cavity, which is a common complication of nephrotic syndrome and can indicate worsening disease or inadequate response to therapy.
Rationale for Incorrect Choices:
• Type 1 diabetes: Type 1 diabetes typically presents with hyperglycemia, polyuria, polydipsia, and weight loss, none of which are observed in this child. The presence of edema and proteinuria is not consistent with diabetes.
• Hemolytic uremic syndrome: HUS is characterized by acute kidney injury, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia. This child does not exhibit hemolysis, platelet abnormalities, or acute renal failure, making HUS unlikely.
• Wilms' tumor: Wilms’ tumor usually presents as a palpable abdominal mass, sometimes with hematuria, but it does not cause generalized edema, proteinuria, or hypoalbuminemia, which are prominent in this child.
• Place the child on strict bed rest: Strict bed rest is unnecessary unless the child’s symptoms are severe. Children with nephrotic syndrome can maintain normal activity levels while under medical monitoring.
• Prepare the child for emergency surgery: Nephrotic syndrome is a medical condition requiring pharmacologic and dietary management, not surgical intervention; surgery is not indicated in this scenario.
• Prepare an insulin drip: There is no evidence of hyperglycemia, ketosis, or diabetes in this child, so initiating an insulin drip would be inappropriate and unrelated to the presenting condition.
• Lymph node size: Lymphadenopathy is not a feature of nephrotic syndrome, and changes in lymph node size would not provide useful information for monitoring this child’s condition or treatment response.
• Ketones: Ketone monitoring is relevant for patients with diabetes or fasting states but is not necessary in nephrotic syndrome, as ketonuria is not a feature of this disease.
• Bladder volume: Bladder monitoring is not required because there is no evidence of urinary obstruction or retention; fluid balance is better assessed by weight and urine output rather than bladder volume.
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