Chapter 34 Patient Management- Nervous System

Chapter 34  Patient Management- Nervous System

Complete Chapter Questions And Answers
 

Sample Questions

1.
A nurse is monitoring a patient recently admitted to the critical care unit with an acute brain injury. She is aware that intracranial hypertension is a major risk associated with brain injury. Which of the following findings would definitively indicate that the patient has intracranial hypertension?
A)
Cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) of 75 mm Hg
B)
Intracranial pressure (ICP) of 25 mm Hg
C)
Mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 150 mm Hg
D)
Systolic pressure of 110 mm Hg

2.
A patient is demonstrating increased pulse pressure, decreased pulse, and irregular respiration. The nurse recognizes these symptoms of increased intracranial pressure and understands that the patient’s autoregulation of cerebral blood flow in the brain has failed. Which of the following findings would be consistent with a failure of autoregulation of blood flow in the brain? Select all that apply.
A)
Cerebral perfusion pressure of 40 mm Hg
B)
Mean arterial pressure of 170 mm Hg
C)
Systolic pressure of 120 mm Hg
D)
Intracranial pressure of 35 mm Hg

3.
A nurse is working with a patient with acute head trauma. The nurse understands that the cerebral blood flow in this patient is decreased to compensate for the cerebral edema caused by the trauma. What other compensatory mechanisms should the nurse be aware of that are likely occurring in this patient to maintain a constant intracranial pressure? Select all that apply.
A)
Expansion of cisterns and ventricles
B)
Increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production
C)
Increased CSF absorption
D)
Shunting of CSF into the spinal subarachnoid space

4.
A patient in the ICU with severe head trauma remains stable for the first 24 hours after admission, with no indication of intracranial hypertension. Suddenly, however, the patient begins showing signs of Cushing’s triad. The nurse recognizes that this occurrence indicates that the patient’s compensatory mechanisms have become exhausted. What physiological change occurs as part of this exhaustion of compensatory mechanisms? Select all that apply.
A)
Decrease in volume of contents of the intracranial compartment
B)
Decrease in intracranial pressure
C)
Decrease in cerebral perfusion
D)
Decrease in compliance within the intracranial compartment

5.
Two patients, a husband and wife, are admitted to the ICU after sustaining traumatic head injuries in a motor vehicle accident. The husband is in a coma but shows no abnormalities on a CT scan. He is 45 years old and has a systolic blood pressure of 85 mm Hg. The wife, 42 years old, is not comatose and has a normal CT scan, but shows signs of brain injury, and has a systolic blood pressure of 80 mm Hg. The nurse recognizes that intracranial pressure monitoring is indicated for which of these patients?
A)
Both the husband and wife
B)
Neither the husband nor the wife
C)
The husband only
D)
The wife only

Answer Key

1.
D
2.
A, C, D
3.
A, D
4.
B, D
5.
C