A 2-year-old child was brought into the emergency department after ingesting several morphine tablets from a bottle in his mother's purse. The nurse knows that the child is at greatest risk for which acid-base imbalance?
a. Respiratory acidosis
b. Respiratory alkalosis
c. Metabolic acidosis
d. Metabolic alkalosis
ANS: A
Morphine overdose can cause respiratory depression and hypoventilation. Hypoventilation results in retention of CO2 and respiratory acidosis. Respiratory alkalosis would result from hyperventi-lation, causing a decrease in CO2 levels. Metabolic acid-base imbalance would be a result of kid-ney dysfunction, vomiting, diarrhea, or other conditions that affect metabolic acids.
You might also like to view...
In preparing for a transplant, all patients will undergo which of the following diagnostic tests?
A) Bone marrow studies B) Renal function studies C) Echocardiogram D) Liver biopsy
As the physiology instructor explains to the students, the kidneys regulate calcium levels within a very tight range by the activity of the parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcitonin. Where does the fine-tuning of the calcium level occur?
A) Bowman's capsule B) The proximal convoluted tubule C) The distal convoluted tubule D) The loop of Henle
The most important nursing intervention when caring for an infant with myelomeningocele in the preoperative stage is which?
a. Take vital signs every hour. b. Place the infant on the side to decrease pressure on the spinal sac. c. Watch for signs that might indicate developing hydrocephalus. d. Apply a heat lamp to facilitate drying and toughening of the sac.
The nurse has applied an aquathermia pad to a client's back. After 15 minutes of treatment, the client says that the pack no longer is warm and asks the nurse to increase the temperature. How should the nurse evaluate this request?
1. Because this client's thermal tolerance is higher than normal, increasing the temperature is necessary. 2. This client may be experiencing a rebound effect from the application of moist heat. 3. Adaptation of the thermal receptors often results in the decreased sensation of warmth. 4. The aquathermia pad should be replaced with a standard hot pack.