RN Nursing School · Critical Care · 16 questions
Neurological Critical Care practice questions
Every question below is free to read with its full rationale. For timed sets, the rest of the bank and progress tracking on Neurological Critical Care, practise in the app.
- 1The nurse is caring for a patient with a traumatic brain injury and increased intracranial pressure. Which interventions will help prevent additional increases in intracranial pressure?Answer →
- 2A patient who is suspected of having an epidural hematoma is admitted to the emergency department with level of consciousness changes and abnormal pupil dilation. Which action will the nurse plan to take?Answer →
- 3A patient with possible cerebral edema has a serum sodium level of 115 mEq/L, [reference range 135-145 mEq/L] a decreasing level of consciousness (LOC) and complains of a headache. Which of these prescribed interventions should the nurse implement first?Answer →
- 4A patient is brought to the emergency room after a motor vehicle accident that has resulted in a head injury. Which assessment will the nurse perform immediately?Answer →
- 5A patient has an intracranial pressure measurement of 22 mm Hg and blood pressure of 174/88 mm Hg. What is the patient's cerebral perfusion pressure? Round to the nearest whole number.Answer →
- 6The nurse is caring for a patient with increased intracranial pressure. The nurse is preparing to administer hypertonic saline to the patient, what expected outcome will the nurse monitor the patient for?Answer →
- 7The nurse has just given the unconscious patient mannitol (Osmitrol) IV. Which parameter is best for the nurse to monitor to determine whether the medication has been effective?Answer →
- 8The nurse is caring for a patient who has a traumatic brain injury. The patient is having clear drainage from the nose. The nurse assesses the drainage for which laboratory finding?Answer →
- 9The nurse is assessing a patient with a suspected increase in intracranial pressure (ICP). Which of the following findings indicates the presence of Cushing's Triad?Answer →
- 10A patient with a herniated disk is prescribed conservative treatment. For which anticipated treatments should the nurse prepare to instruct this patient? Select all that apply (SATA).Answer →
- 11An elderly patient may have sustained a basilar skull fracture after slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk. Which physician's order will the nurse question?Answer →
- 12A nurse is assessing a patient with a recent intracranial hemorrhage. The patient opens his eyes to pain only, displays decorticate posturing, and has incomprehensible speech. Based on the Glascow Coma Scale (GCS) the patient has a score of seven. What is the patient's neurologic status?Answer →
- 13A patient with a spinal cord injury at the C4 level has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). What is the priority intervention for the nurse to implement?Answer →
- 14A patient who experienced a spinal cord injury 1 hour ago is brought to the emergency room. Which medication will the nurse prepare to administer to this patient?Answer →
- 15A patient in the ICU fell off a horse 1 day prior and has sustained a T5 level injury to his spine. After being placed on cardiac monitors, the patient's heart rate is 34 bpm. What drug should the nurse recognize as appropriate to administer in order to increase the heart rate and prevent hypoxemia?Answer →
- 16When a patient's intracranial pressure (ICP) is being monitored with an intraventricular catheter, which information obtained by the nurse is most important to communicate to the health care provider?Answer →