ATI LPN
Perioperative Care Practice Questions Quizlet Questions
Question 1 of 5
A client is scheduled for a below-the-knee amputation. The circulating nurse ensures the proper side is marked prior to the start of surgery. What action by the nurse is most appropriate?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Failed to generate a rationale of 500+ characters after 5 retries.
Question 2 of 5
A perioperative nurse is caring for a postoperative patient. The patient has a shallow respiratory pattern and is reluctant to cough or to begin mobilizing. The nurse should address the patients increased risk for what complication?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A shallow, monotonous respiratory pattern and reluctance to cough or mobilize post-surgery significantly increase the risk of atelectasis, which is the collapse of alveoli due to inadequate lung expansion. This condition arises when patients avoid deep breathing or movement, leading to reduced ventilation and potential airway obstruction by mucus. Unlike ARDS, which involves a severe inflammatory response often triggered by trauma or infection, atelectasis is more directly linked to immobility and shallow breathing. Aspiration, while a risk in postoperative patients, typically occurs due to inhalation of foreign material like vomit, not just shallow breathing. Pulmonary embolism, a blockage in the pulmonary artery usually by a clot, is less directly tied to these specific symptoms and more associated with circulatory issues like deep vein thrombosis. Thus, the nurse's priority is preventing atelectasis by encouraging coughing and mobility to maintain airway patency and lung expansion.
Question 3 of 5
The nurse is assessing an adult patient following a motor vehicle accident. The nurse observes that the patient has an increased use of accessory muscles and is complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath. The nurse should recognize the possibility of what condition?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Post-trauma symptoms like increased accessory muscle use, chest pain, and shortness of breath suggest a pneumothorax, where air in the pleural space collapses the lung, impairing ventilation. Accessory muscles (e.g., sternocleidomastoid) compensate for reduced lung expansion, while pain arises from pleural irritation or rib fractures, common in motor vehicle accidents. Anxiety may cause rapid breathing, but chest pain and accessory muscle use are less typical unless panic mimics trauma effects, which history rules out. Acute bronchitis, an inflammatory condition, presents with cough and mucus, not trauma-related dyspnea or pain. Aspiration involves inhaling foreign material, causing cough or infection, not immediate post-accident symptoms. The nurse's recognition of pneumothorax prompts urgent imaging (e.g., chest X-ray) and intervention (e.g., chest tube), critical given its potential to progress to tension pneumothorax in a trauma setting.
Question 4 of 5
The nurse is caring for a 46-year-old patient recently diagnosed with the early stages of lung cancer. The nurse is aware that the preferred method of treating patients with nonsmall cell tumors is what?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: For early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), surgical resection is the preferred treatment when tumors are localized, there's no metastasis, and the patient has adequate cardiopulmonary reserve. This approach e.g., lobectomy offers the best chance for cure by physically removing the malignancy, leveraging NSCLC's slower growth compared to small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Chemotherapy and radiation are adjuncts or alternatives when surgery isn't feasible (e.g., advanced disease, poor surgical candidacy), targeting systemic or residual cancer. Bronchoscopy relieves airway obstruction but doesn't treat the tumor itself. The nurse's awareness of surgery's primacy informs patient education on procedure risks (e.g., infection, pneumothorax), recovery (e.g., pain management), and prognosis, aligning with guidelines like those from the American Cancer Society for optimizing outcomes in early NSCLC.
Question 5 of 5
A nurse is caring for a young adult patient whose medical history includes an alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency. This deficiency predisposes the patient to what health problem?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency predisposes young adults to lobular emphysema, a form of COPD, by impairing lung protection. AAT, a protease inhibitor, neutralizes neutrophil elastase, which otherwise degrades alveolar elastin unchecked in deficiency states, causing early-onset emphysema, often sans smoking. This destruction yields air trapping and hyperinflation, hallmarks of lobular emphysema, typically in the lower lobes. Pulmonary edema, fluid in alveoli, stems from cardiac failure or ARDS, not AAT loss. Cystic fibrosis involves CFTR mutations, not AAT, affecting mucus viscosity. Empyema, pleural infection, isn't linked to AAT deficiency. The nurse's recognition of this genetic risk confirmed by AAT levels guides monitoring (e.g., spirometry) and counseling (e.g., avoiding smoke), critical for delaying progression in this rare, inherited condition.