ATI LPN
Perioperative Care Practice Questions Quizlet Questions
Question 1 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 2 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 3 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.
Question 4 of 5
A nurse is documenting the results of assessment of a patient with bronchiectasis. What would the nurse most likely include in documentation?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: In bronchiectasis, clubbing of the fingers is a likely finding for documentation, resulting from chronic hypoxia as dilated bronchi impair gas exchange. This physical sign widened, rounded fingertips reflects prolonged respiratory insufficiency from copious sputum and recurrent infections, common in this condition. Sudden pleuritic chest pain suggests pulmonary embolism or pleurisy, not bronchiectasis's chronic course. Wheezes indicate bronchospasm, typical in asthma, not the wet cough of bronchiectasis. Increased A-P diameter (barrel chest) occurs in COPD's emphysema, not bronchiectasis's bronchial dilation. The nurse's note on clubbing observed via inspection captures a key clinical feature, aiding diagnosis tracking and care planning (e.g., oxygen needs) for this irreversible airway disease.
Question 5 of 5
A nurse is planning the care of a client with bronchiectasis. What goal of care should the nurse prioritize?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In bronchiectasis care, the nurse prioritizes the patient successfully mobilizing pulmonary secretions, addressing the disease's core issue chronic bronchial dilation trapping thick, purulent mucus. Effective clearance via chest physiotherapy or postural drainage reduces infection risk, obstruction, and dyspnea, improving ventilation and quality of life in this irreversible condition. Maintaining 98% oxygen saturation is unrealistic 90-94% often suffices in chronic lung disease and not the primary focus. Reducing pulmonary blood pressure isn't a bronchiectasis hallmark; it's more relevant in cor pulmonale or pulmonary hypertension. Resuming prediagnosis function in 72 hours is unfeasible given bronchiectasis's permanence. The nurse's goal of secretion mobilization tracked by sputum volume drives symptom relief, aligning with evidence-based management.