A patient has developed severe cardiogenic shock and is on a mechanical ventilator. The family asks why the patient's hands feel so cold. What is the nurse's best response?
1. "We keep the intensive care unit cool to reduce patients' metabolic rates."
2. "The patient has developed a fever and chills."
3. "This happens frequently to patients in shock states."
4. "Blood vessels constrict in shock, which takes the blood away from hands and feet."
4
Rationale 1: The ICU is not deliberately chilled; this is not the reason the patient's hands are cold.
Rationale 2: Fever and chills would not result in cold hands.
Rationale 3: This response does not answer the family's question.
Rationale 4: Vasoconstriction results from catecholamine release, which is a compensatory mechanism in shock. The diversion of warm blood away from the extremities results in cold hands and feet.
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