A nurse is caring for a patient in acute renal failure who develops muscle weakness and an irregular heart rhythm. The provider prescribes an IV infusion of hypertonic glucose, regular insulin, and sodium bicarbonate. The nurse recognizes that these treatments are intended to manage which of the following complications?
Hypoglycemia
Hyperkalemia
Hypernatremia
Hypokalemia
The Correct Answer is B
Choice A reason: Hypoglycemia involves low blood glucose, causing symptoms like shakiness or confusion, not muscle weakness or arrhythmias. Hypertonic glucose and insulin would worsen hypoglycemia by increasing glucose uptake, and sodium bicarbonate is irrelevant. These symptoms and treatments align with hyperkalemia, not low glucose levels, in renal failure.
Choice B reason: Hyperkalemia, common in acute renal failure due to impaired potassium excretion, causes muscle weakness and cardiac arrhythmias by altering membrane potentials. Hypertonic glucose and insulin drive potassium into cells, while sodium bicarbonate corrects acidosis, stabilizing cardiac membranes, making this the targeted complication for the prescribed treatment.
Choice C reason: Hypernatremia (high sodium) causes neurological symptoms like confusion, not muscle weakness or arrhythmias. The prescribed treatments do not address sodium levels; insulin and glucose manage potassium, and bicarbonate corrects acidosis. Hypernatremia is not a primary concern in acute renal failure with these symptoms.
Choice D reason: Hypokalemia (low potassium) causes muscle weakness and arrhythmias but is rare in acute renal failure, where hyperkalemia is typical due to reduced excretion. The prescribed treatments aim to lower potassium, not increase it, making hypokalemia an incorrect target for this therapy in the context of renal failure.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Hourly nursing assessments are important for monitoring safety in restraints but are not the primary legal requirement. Assessments ensure no physical harm, but psychiatric evaluation within one hour is mandated to confirm restraint necessity, making this option secondary in priority for immediate post-restraint protocol.
Choice B reason: Constant supervision may be used, but transitioning to video monitoring after one hour does not meet strict regulatory standards for restraints. Face-to-face psychiatric evaluation within one hour is required to assess ongoing need and ensure patient rights, making this option less accurate for legal compliance.
Choice C reason: Regulatory standards (e.g., CMS, Joint Commission) mandate a face-to-face evaluation by a psychiatrist within one hour of initiating restraints to assess necessity, safety, and alternatives. This ensures compliance with mental health laws, protects patient rights, and prevents overuse, making it the required action.
Choice D reason: Reviewing restraint appropriateness hourly is part of ongoing care but is not the primary requirement. A psychiatrist’s face-to-face evaluation within one hour takes precedence to ensure legal and ethical use, as it confirms the clinical justification for restraints, making this option secondary.
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
Choice A reason: Insight into mental health problems varies individually and is not a defining feature of voluntary versus involuntary commitment. Both types of patients may lack insight, especially in severe mental illness, making this statement inaccurate as a legal or procedural distinction between commitment types.
Choice B reason: Involuntary commitment, under laws like a 302, restricts a client’s ability to initiate discharge due to assessed danger to self or others. Voluntary clients can request discharge, though medical advice may apply. This legal distinction defines the difference, making it the correct answer.
Choice C reason: Involuntary clients cannot universally refuse treatment, as court-ordered interventions may apply in cases of imminent danger. Both voluntary and involuntary clients have rights to refuse non-emergent treatment, but this is not the primary legal distinction between commitment types, making this option incorrect.
Choice D reason: Aggression is not a defining characteristic of voluntary commitment. Both voluntary and involuntary clients may exhibit aggression, depending on their mental health condition. The distinction lies in legal control over discharge, not behavior, making this statement inaccurate for defining commitment types.
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