A circulating nurse provides care in a surgical department that has multiple surgeries scheduled for the day. The nurse should know to monitor which patient most closely during the intraoperative period because of the increased risk for hypothermia?
A) A 74-year-old woman with a low body mass index
B) A 17-year-old boy with traumatic injuries
C) A 45-year-old woman having an abdominal hysterectomy
D) A 13-year-old girl undergoing craniofacial surgery
Ans: A
Feedback:
Elderly patients are at greatest risk during surgical procedures because they have an impaired ability to increase their metabolic rate and impaired thermoregulatory mechanisms, which increase susceptibility to hypothermia. The other patients are likely at a lower risk.
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Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).