The emergency department nurse is attempting to revive an unconscious, shivering person with extreme hypothermia (rectal temperature of 94° F). The nurse should be most alarmed with which change?
a. The patient's cold ears turn red.
b. The patient stops shivering.
c. The patient's hands clench.
d. The patient's reflexes return.
B
Cessation of shivering indicates that the body's homeostatic response to generate heat has ceased and the patient's condition is deteriorating. Clenching hands are an insignificant finding. Red-dened ears and returning reflexes would indicate warming.
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