A premature infant with respiratory distress syndrome receives artificial surfactant. How would the nurse explain surfactant therapy to the parents?
“Surfactant improves the ability of your baby’s lungs to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.”.
“The drug keeps your baby from requiring too much sedation.”.
“Surfactant is used to reduce episodes of periodic apnea.”.
“Your baby needs this medication to fight a possible respiratory tract infection.”.
The Correct Answer is A
choice A. Surfactant improves the ability of your baby’s lungs to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Surfactant is a substance that coats the inner surface of the alveoli, the tiny air sacs in the lungs.
It reduces the surface tension of the alveoli and prevents them from collapsing during exhalation.
Premature infants often lack enough surfactant, which leads to respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).
Artificial surfactant is given to these infants to help them breathe more easily. Choice B is wrong because surfactant has nothing to do with sedation.
Sedation is a state of reduced consciousness induced by drugs. Surfactant does not affect the level of consciousness of the infant.
Choice C is wrong because surfactant is not used to reduce episodes of periodic apnea.
Periodic apnea is a condition where the infant stops breathing for a short time, usually due to immature brainstem function.
Surfactant does not affect the brainstem or the control of breathing.
Choice D is wrong because surfactant is not used to fight a possible respiratory tract infection. Surfactant does not have any antibacterial or antiviral properties.
Surfactant is used to treat RDS, which is caused by a lack of surfactant, not by an infection.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
The correct answer is choice D. Perinatal transmission of HIV is when HIV is passed from a woman with HIV to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

Breast milk from an infected mother can contain HIV and infect the baby.
Choice A is wrong because HIV can be transmitted at any stage of pregnancy, not only in the third trimester.
Choice B is wrong because needlestick injury is not a common mode of perinatal transmission of HIV. It is more likely to occur among health care workers who are exposed to contaminated needles or sharp objects.
Choice C is wrong because HIV can also be transmitted through the ingestion of amniotic fluid, but it is not the only way. Amniotic fluid is the fluid that surrounds and protects the baby in the womb.
Correct Answer is ["A","C","D","E","F"]
Explanation
A health history is a holistic assessment of all factors affecting a patient’s health status, including information about social, cultural, familial, and economic aspects of the patient’s life as well as any other component of the patient’s life style that affects health and well-being.
Choice B is wrong because physical assessment is not part of the health history, but a separate process of examining the patient’s body systems.
Choice A is correct because review of systems is a systematic method of collecting data on all body systems.
Choice C is correct because sexual history is an important aspect of the patient’s health that may affect their risk for sexually transmitted infections, reproductive health, and psychosocial well-being.
Choice D is correct because height, weight, BMI data are part of the biographical data that provide a baseline for comparing the patient’s characteristics to established norms for physical and emotional health.
Choice E is correct because diet and nutritional intake are relevant factors that influence the patient’s health status and may indicate potential problems such as malnutrition, obesity, or eating disorders.
Choice F is correct because family medical history provides information about the patient’s genetic risk for certain diseases and conditions that may affect their current or future health.
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