Which data warrants the most immediate intervention by the nurse for a client with diabetes insipidus (DI)? Reference Range: Sodium [136 to 145 mEq/L (136 to 145 mmol/L)].

Dry skin with inelastic turgor.

Apical rate of 110 beats/minute.

Serum sodium of 185 mEq/L (185 mmol/L).

Polyuria and excessive thirst.

Answer and Explanation

The Correct Answer is C

Choice A reason: Dry skin and inelastic turgor reflect dehydration in DI from antidiuretic hormone deficiency, causing water loss. This is less urgent than hypernatremia (185 mEq/L), which dehydrates brain cells, risking seizures or coma, requiring immediate fluid correction to prevent neurological damage in this critical condition.

Choice B reason: Tachycardia (110 beats/minute) compensates for hypovolemia in DI, where water loss reduces preload, triggering sympathetic activation. This is less critical than hypernatremia (185 mEq/L), which causes cerebral dehydration, necessitating urgent hypotonic fluids to prevent neurological complications, making heart rate secondary.

Choice C reason: Serum sodium of 185 mEq/L indicates severe hypernatremia in DI, where water loss concentrates sodium, dehydrating neurons and risking seizures or coma. Immediate IV hypotonic fluids (e.g., 5% dextrose) correct osmolarity, preventing life-threatening cerebral complications, addressing the urgent pathophysiological crisis in DI.

Choice D reason: Polyuria and thirst are hallmark DI symptoms from water loss but expected and less urgent than hypernatremia (185 mEq/L), which threatens neurological function via osmotic brain injury. Correcting sodium is critical to prevent seizures, making these symptoms secondary to urgent electrolyte management.

Nursing Test Bank

Quiz #1: RN Exams Pharmacology Exams Quiz #2: RN Exams Medical-Surgical Exams Quiz #3: RN Exams Fundamentals Exams Quiz #4: RN Exams Maternal-Newborn Exams Quiz #5: RN Exams Anatomy and Physiology Exams Quiz #6: RN Exams Obstetrics and Pediatrics Exams Quiz #7: RN Exams Fluid and Electrolytes Exams Quiz #8: RN Exams Community Health Exams Quiz #9: RN Exams Promoting Health across the lifespan Exams Quiz #10: RN Exams Multidimensional care Exams

Get 100+ Naxlex Exit Exams for $79 Try Naxlex NCLEX-RN (14 Day Free-Trial)

Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams

Quiz #1: Naxlex RN Comprehensive online practice 2019 B with NGN Quiz #2: Naxlex RN Comprehensive Predictor 2023 Quiz #3: Naxlex RN Comprehensive Predictor 2023 Exit Exam A Quiz #4: Naxlex HESI Exit LPN Exam Quiz #5: Naxlex PN Comprehensive Predictor PN 2020 Quiz #6: Naxlex VATI PN Comprehensive Predictor 2020 Quiz #8: Naxlex PN Comprehensive Predictor 2023 - Exam 1 Quiz #10: Naxlex HESI PN Exit exam Quiz #11: Naxlex HESI PN EXIT Exam 2

Free Nursing Study Resources

Correct Answer is D

Explanation

Choice A reason: Facilitating a family meeting with palliative care discusses end-of-life goals in COPD, where airway obstruction causes respiratory failure. However, notifying the provider of the living will ensures immediate alignment with the client’s wishes, especially on ventilation, addressing the urgent need to respect legal directives in a critical scenario.

Choice B reason: Alerting staff about do-not-resuscitate (DNR) wishes assumes the living will specifies DNR, which requires confirmation. The provider must review the document first, as end-stage COPD necessitates clarity on ventilation preferences to guide urgent care, making notification the priority over premature staff alerts.

Choice C reason: Placing the living will in the EHR ensures documentation but does not immediately affect care. In end-stage COPD with respiratory distress, notifying the provider ensures the client’s wishes, like avoiding intubation, are followed promptly, preventing unwanted interventions, making this more urgent than administrative tasks.

Choice D reason: Notifying the provider of the living will is critical, as it legally specifies the client’s preferences, potentially refusing ventilation in end-stage COPD, where dyspnea results from irreversible obstruction. This ensures treatment respects autonomy, guiding immediate care to align with palliative goals, preventing inappropriate interventions during a crisis.

A. Imbalanced nutrition. B. Deficient fluid volume. C. Risk for infection. D. Urinary incontinence.

Correct Answer is C

Explanation

Choice A reason: Imbalanced nutrition is unrelated to 150 mL residual urine, which indicates incomplete bladder emptying, often from detrusor dysfunction or obstruction. Nutrition affects overall health but does not cause retention. Residual urine increases infection risk due to stasis, making nutrition an irrelevant nursing problem for this urinary issue.

Choice B reason: Deficient fluid volume suggests dehydration, reducing urine output, not causing high residual volumes. Residual urine (150 mL) indicates retention from impaired bladder emptying, not fluid deficit. Hydration prevents stasis, but infection risk from retained urine is more immediate, as bacteria proliferate in stagnant urine.

Choice C reason: Residual urine of 150 mL signifies incomplete bladder emptying, often from obstruction or neurogenic bladder, leading to urinary stasis. This fosters bacterial growth, increasing urinary tract infection (UTI) risk. Including “risk for infection” addresses this pathophysiological concern, guiding interventions like catheterization to reduce infection likelihood.

Choice D reason: Urinary incontinence involves involuntary leakage, not retention, where the bladder fails to empty, as seen with 150 mL residual urine. Retention results from outflow obstruction or weak detrusor, distinct from incontinence’s loss of control, making this nursing problem inappropriate for the client’s condition.

View Question and Answer

Whether you are a student looking to ace your exams or a practicing nurse seeking to enhance your expertise , our nursing education contents will empower you with the confidence and competence to make a difference in the lives of patients and become a respected leader in the healthcare field.

Visit Naxlex, invest in your future and unlock endless possibilities with our unparalleled nursing education contents today

Which data warrants the most immediate intervention by the nurse for a client with diabetes insipidus (DI)? Reference Range: Sodium [136 to 145 mEq/L (136 to 145 mmol/L)].

Nursing Test Bank

Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams

Correct Answer is D

Explanation

After a client voids, 150 mL of residual urine is measured. Which nursing problem should be included in this client’s plan of care?

Correct Answer is C

Explanation

A child is being prepared for a computed tomography (CT) scan when the child begins to have a tonic-clonic seizure. The mother is hysterical and is trying to hold the child down. What action(s) should the nurse take? (Select all that apply)

The nurse is providing teaching to a client with type 2 diabetes mellitus about important points for disease and symptom management. Which statement by the client indicates understanding?

The nurse is initiating a 24-hour urine collection for a client with an indwelling urinary catheter. After emptying all the urine from the collection bag, which action is most important for the nurse to implement?

The nurse measures the client’s blood pressure (BP) and notes that it is significantly higher than the previous reading. Which should the nurse do next? (Select all that apply)

A client with heart failure is receiving intravenous fluids at 125 mL/hour. The nurse observes an increase in jugular vein distention (JVD) and pedal edema. Which additional assessment should the nurse make before reporting to the healthcare provider?

Four hours following surgical repair of a compound fracture of the right ulna, the nurse is unable to palpate the client’s right radial pulse. Which action should the nurse take first?

Which instruction should the nurse provide a client who was recently diagnosed with Raynaud’s disease?