The critical care nurse is reviewing patients who would be good candidates for organ donation. Which patient would be appropriate for this process?
1. A 25-year-old who is 28 weeks pregnant and has a severe traumatic head injury
2. A 30-year-old who was healthy before overdosing with barbiturates
3. A 45-year-old with a small primary lung carcinoma
4. A 55-year-old with intracranial pressure from a primary intracranial tumor
4
Rationale 1: A pregnant patient would not be a candidate for donation until the unborn child had been delivered or had also died.
Rationale 2: Brain death cannot be determined for a patient who was just admitted after overdosing with barbiturates until the drugs are reversed or wear off.
Rationale 3: Any other malignancy such as small primary lung carcinoma would preclude donation.
Rationale 4: The 55-year-old with intracranial pressure is near death (unconscious and on mechanical ventilation) due to pressure from a primary cranial tumor and would be the most appropriate candidate for organ donation.
You might also like to view...
A perioperative nurse is explaining the process of general anesthesia in anticipation of the adult patient's imminent bowel resection. When describing the phase of induction, the nurse should explain that this is usually achieved by what means?
A) Intramuscular injection of anesthetics and benzodiazepines B) Intravenous administration of opioid analgesics C) Subcutaneous injection of a rapid-acting anesthetic D) Intravenous administration of anesthetics
The nurse is teaching a nursing assistant methods to assist an older client with dementia in performing mouth care. Which instruction should the nurse provide to the assistant?
1. Place a hand over the client's hand and guide the client to perform mouth care. 2. Use sponge swabs to cleanse the gums around the teeth in the front. 3. Brush the teeth quickly for the agitated or irritable client and finish with a mouth rinse. 4. Carefully place two fingers of a gloved hand in the client's mouth to access the back teeth.
The small lines on the upper bar of the balance scale indicate
A) 1/4 pound. B) 1/2 pound. C) 3/4 pound. D) 1 pound.
The client is to receive a sodium polystyrene sulphonate (Kayexalate) enema. For which of the following purposes does the nurse recognize this is used?
a. To prevent further constipation b. To remove excess potassium from the system c. To reduce bacteria in the colon before diagnostic testing d. To provide direct antidiarrheal medication to the intestine