ATI LPN
Foundations and Adult Health Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 12 : Vital Signs Questions
Question 1 of 5
A patient is suspected of having a cardiac arrhythmia. The nurse is concerned with the findings of an apical rate of 88 and a radial rate of 80. What is the term for the difference between these two rates?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The difference between radial and apical pulses is called a pulse deficit.
Question 2 of 5
The nurse is alarmed when a patient with a severe head injury of the occipital lobe has a respiratory rate of 10 breaths/min. Where might this finding indicate that there is an injury?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Rate of respiration is controlled by the medulla oblongata.
Question 3 of 5
The nurse assesses respirations of a patient demonstrating pursed-lip breathing flared nostrils and retractions. How will the nurse describe these respirations?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The patient who is using ancillary muscles to breathe is exhibiting dyspnea.
Question 4 of 5
A nurse assesses a neonate's temperature by using a temporal artery scanner. What intervention should the nurse implement if the neonate's temperature is 96°F (35.5°C)?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The neonate's temperature normally ranges from 96° to 99.5°F (35.5° to 37.5°
C). Temperature regulation is labile (unstable) during infancy because of immature physiologic mechanisms. Axillary measurement is considered the least accurate method and is used less frequently since the advent of the tympanic membrane thermometer. Tympanic thermometer readings are suitable for patients of all ages, except infants.
Question 5 of 5
A nurse assesses a neonate's temperature by using a temporal artery scanner. What intervention should the nurse implement if the neonate's temperature is 99.5°F (37.5°C)?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The neonate's temperature normally ranges from 96° to 99.5°F (35.5° to 37.5°
C). Temperature regulation is labile (unstable) during infancy because of immature physiologic mechanisms. Axillary measurement is considered the least accurate method and is used less frequently since the advent of the tympanic membrane thermometer. Tympanic thermometer readings are suitable for patients of all ages, except infants.