Easy Does it!
With fluid volume excess, the body's overall osmolarity tends to go this direction.
What is down?
When a patient's circulating blood volume is critically low, resulting in a significantly reduced blood pressure, the nurse knows to take this vital action next.
What is administering an IV fluid bolus (or rapidly infusing IV fluids)?
The nurse caring for a patient experiencing fluid volume deficit alongside hypokalemia receives an order for spironolactone. What is the nurse's essential next action regarding the prescription.
What is question the order?
After reviewing several patient's laboratory values, including a Serum Osmolality of 332 mOsm/kg, a Serum Sodium of 161 mEq/L, Hemoglobin of 7.9 g/dL, and a Creatinine of 2.7 mg/dL, the nurse recognizes this specific value as indicating fluid volume excess.
What is Hemoglobin of 7.9 g/dL?
This electrolyte imbalance can cause nausea, vomiting, muscle hypotonicity, and must be monitored closely for its damaging effects on the heart and kidneys.
What is hypercalcemia?
In states of critically reduced preload, the heart's immediate compensatory effort to maintain adequate cardiac output manifests in this.
What is Tachycardia?
When a dehydrated patient exhibits hypovolemia and a sodium level shift that requires fluid to be safely moved back into their cells, the nurse should anticipate orders for what specific type of intravenous solution.
What is 0.45% NS or hypotonic solution
The nurse reviews an order for sodium polystyrene sulfonate for a patient with low serum potassium. What should the nurse do next regarding this order?
What is question the order?
After reviewing the laboratory values for several patients, including one with a Serum Osmolality of 323 mOsm/kg, Sodium of 151 mEq/L, Blood urea nitrogen 4 mg/dL and Creatinine of 3.2 mg/dL, the nurse recognizes this specific value as indicative of fluid volume excess.
Blood urea nitrogen 4 mg/dL
After a thyroidectomy, the nurse closely monitors for hypocalcemia-related complications like hyperreflexia and this potentially life-threatening airway spasm.
Answer: What is a laryngospasm?
When cerebral blood flow is compromised by systemic hypovolemia, this neurological alteration frequently manifests.
What is confusion or LOC?
For a patient with prolonged gastrointestinal fluid losses, manifesting as both significant hypernatremia and hypocalcemia, the nurse must immediately institute this vital safety measure.
What is seizure precaution?
After interventions to address fluid volume deficit, the most direct and objective indicator of successfully restoration fluid volume is the positive change in this specific vital sign.
What is blood pressure?
To help a client with hypercalcemia retain calcium in their skeletal system and decrease calcium in their blood, the nurse encourages this activity.
Answer: What is ambulating?
Known as "the brain shrinker," this electrolyte can cause cellular dehydration and seizures when elevated, prompting the need for seizure precautions.
Answer: What is sodium (or hypernatremia)?
Critically elevated systemic volume can dangerously manifest within the cranium as this specific type of tissue swelling.
What is cerebral edema?
Suspicion of a systemic infection, often prompting a blood culture draw, is frequently triggered by these three abnormal vital signs
What are body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate?
A comprehensive assessment of a client strongly suspected of having pneumonia would reveal what 4 characteristic clinical and lab manifestations.
What are fatigue, dyspnea, chest pain on inspiration, productive cough, yellow sputum, fever, elevated WBCs, and crackles/wheezing in the lower lobe(s)?
Numbness and tingling in the finger tips, around the mouth, muscle cramps and spasms and tetany may alert the nurse to this electrolyte imbalance.
What is hypocalcemia?
Produced by the adrenal glands, this hormone helps the body retain sodium while excreting potassium and magnesium—but won’t be made if the adrenal glands fail.
Answer: What is aldosterone?
Fluid volume overload can lead to this lung condition, which then causes insufficient 02 delivery to the brain, lowers the heart's pumping effectiveness, and frequently upsets the body's electrolyte balance.
What is Pulmonary Edema?
Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease face a heightened risk for acquiring this specific bacterial infection, notorious for causing severe, often life-threatening diarrhea.
What is C-Diff?
When faced with a client experiencing impaired tissue oxygenation, evidence of an active infection, dizziness with an unsteady gait, the nurse's immediate interventions involve these three actions.
What are administering oxygen, requesting an order for antibiotics, and instituting fall precautions?
Excess calcium in the bloodstream—often leached from this body system—can lead to complications such as fractures, dysrhythmias, kidney damage, and muscle hypotonicity.
Answer: What are the bones?
To avoid fatal complications like cardiac arrest, this electrolyte must never be given IV push and should be infused no faster than 10 mEq/hour unless the patient is on continuous ECG monitoring.
Answer: What is potassium?