The practical nurse (PN) is assigned to assist in the care of a client at 34-weeks gestation with premature rupture of membranes (PROM). Four hours after admission, the PN recognizes an increasing trend in the maternal heart rate. Which action should the PN take?
Follow contact precautions when providing care.
Insert a urinary catheter to monitor hourly output.
Encourage the client to push with the next contraction.
Initiate oxygen via face mask at 8 to 10 L/min.
The Correct Answer is D
An increasing trend in maternal heart rate is a sign of fetal distress, which can be a serious complication of PROM. One of the primary interventions for fetal distress is to increase oxygen delivery to the fetus. The practical nurse should initiate oxygen via face mask at 8 to 10 L/min to improve fetal oxygenation.
Contact precautions may be necessary for certain conditions, but they are not indicated for an increasing maternal heart rate.
Inserting a urinary catheter may be appropriate for monitoring output, but it is not the first priority in this situation.
Encouraging the client to push is not appropriate because the client is not in active labor and pushing can cause further complications.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
The practical nurse (PN) should recognize that a newborn whose mother has poorly controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus and is exhibiting grunting with mild sternal retractions is exhibiting signs of patent ductus arteriosus. Patent ductus arteriosus is a condition in which the ductus arteriosus, a blood vessel that connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta, fails to close after birth. This can result in abnormal blood flow between the aorta and pulmonary artery, leading to respiratory distress.
Hypothyroidism (Option A) and hyperinsulinemia (Option C) are conditions that can occur in newborns, but they do not typically present with grunting and sternal retractions.
Ventral septal defect (Option D) is a congenital heart defect that can cause respiratory distress, but it is not specifically associated with maternal diabetes.
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
The practical nurse (PN) should first massage the fundus and expel retained lochia and clots to help the uterus contract and prevent postpartum hemorrhage.
Taking the vital signs and opening the IV infusion rate of oxytocin (A) may be necessary but not as urgent as massaging the fundus.
Notifying the registered nurse (RN) that the client's bladder is distended (B) is not relevant to addressing the client's boggy and displaced fundus.
Putting the infant to breast to suckle and stimulate oxytocin secretion (C) is a valid intervention, but it is not the first priority when the client's fundus becomes boggy and displaced above the umbilicus.
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