A postoperative patient suddenly develops dyspnea, tachypnea, restlessness, and chest pain. Which complication should the nurse suspect is occurring in this patient?
a. Pulmonary edema
b. Respiratory arrest
c. Pulmonary embolus
d. Myocardial infarction
ANS: C
The patient likely has a pulmonary embolus, which is a life-threatening condition and requires prompt medical intervention. A. B. D. Sudden dyspnea, tachypnea, restlessness and chest pain are not all associated with pulmonary edema, respiratory arrest, or myocardial infarction.
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The nurse is teaching parents about chronic pain. Which statement indicates teaching has been successful?
1. "It is sudden and of short duration." 2. "It is persistent, lasting longer than six months." 3. "It is associated with a single event." 4. "It is associated with pain and discomfort."
A nurse teaches a client with functional urinary incontinence. Which statement should the nurse include in this client's teaching?
a. "You must clean around your catheter daily with soap and water." b. "Wash the vaginal weights with a 10% bleach solution after each use." c. "Operations to repair your bladder are available, and you can consider these." d. "Buy slacks with elastic waistbands that are easy to pull down."
A patient has returned from back surgery. The family has brought in the patient's continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. What is the best rationale for allowing the patient to use the CPAP machine at night?
a. It will keep the patient in deep levels of REM, which will decrease the need for pain medication. b. It will help decrease hospital noise that will keep the patient awake. c. The patient needs ventilator support owing to the increased chance of postoperative respiratory complications. d. The patient needs to follow the same bedtime routine to promote a safe environment for sleep.
A patient, talking to a home health nurse about urinary incontinence, gives the nurse a list of the current medications she is taking. What medication should the nurse recognize as possibly con-tributing to the patient's urinary incontinence?
a. Methylcellulose (Citrucel) b. Diazepam (Valium) c. Simvastatin (Zocor) d. Digoxin (Lanoxin)