ICU Hemodynamics Exam
Questions and Answers,
Exams of Nursing
Guaranteed A+ Certified Pass
. A patient who has been in the intensive care unit for 4 days has disturbed
sensory perception from sleep deprivation. Which action should the nurse include
in the plan of care?
a. Administer prescribed sedatives or opioids at bedtime to promote sleep.
b. Cluster nursing activities so that the patient has uninterrupted rest periods.
c. Silence the alarms on the cardiac monitors to allow 30- to 40-minute naps.
d. Eliminate assessments between 2200 and 0600 to allow uninterrupted sleep. -
ANSWERS-ANS: B
Clustering nursing activities and providing uninterrupted rest periods will minimize
sleep-cycle disruption. Sedative and opioid medications tend to decrease the
amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and can contribute to sleep
disturbance and disturbed sensory perception. Silencing the alarms on the cardiac
monitors would be unsafe in a critically ill patient, as would discontinuing all
assessments during the night.
Which hemodynamic parameter best reflects the effectiveness of drugs that the
nurse gives to reduce a patient's left ventricular afterload?
a. Mean arterial pressure (MAP)
,b. Systemic vascular resistance (SVR)
c. Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR)
d. Pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) - ANSWERS-ANS: B
SVR reflects the resistance to ventricular ejection, or afterload. The other
parameters may be monitored but do not reflect afterload as directly.
1. While close family members are visiting, a patient has a respiratory arrest, and
resuscitation is started. Which action by the nurse is best?
a. Tell the family members that watching the resuscitation will be very stressful.
b. Ask family members if they wish to remain in the room during the resuscitation.
c. Take the family members quickly out of the patient room and remain with
them.
d. Assign a staff member to wait with family members just outside the patient
room. - ANSWERS-ANS: B
Evidence indicates that many family members want the option of remaining in the
room during procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and that this
decreases anxiety and facilitates grieving. The other options may be appropriate if
the family decides not to remain with the patient.
After surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a patient's central venous
pressure (CVP) monitor indicates low pressures. Which action should the nurse
take?
a. Administer IV diuretic medications.
b. Increase the IV fluid infusion per protocol.
c. Increase the infusion rate of IV vasodilators.
d. Elevate the head of the patient's bed to 45 degrees. - ANSWERS-ANS: B
, A low CVP indicates hypovolemia and a need for an increase in the infusion rate.
Diuretic administration will contribute to hypovolemia and elevation of the head
or increasing vasodilators may decrease cerebral perfusion.
1. When caring for a patient with pulmonary hypertension, which parameter will
the nurse use to directly evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment?
a. Central venous pressure (CVP)
b. Systemic vascular resistance (SVR)
c. Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR)
d. Pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) - ANSWERS-ANS: C
PVR is a major contributor to pulmonary hypertension, and a decrease would
indicate that pulmonary hypertension was improving. The other parameters may
also be monitored but do not directly assess for pulmonary hypertension.
What action by a new intensive care unit staff nurse would indicate that the nurse
educator's teaching about arterial pressure monitoring has been effective?
a. Balances and calibrates the monitoring equipment every 2 hours.
b. Positions the zero-reference stopcock line level with the phlebostatic axis.
c. Ensures that the patient is supine with the head of the bed flat for all readings.
d. Rechecks the location of the phlebostatic axis with changes in the patient's
position. - ANSWERS-ANS: B
For accurate measurement of pressures, the zero-reference level should be at the
phlebostatic axis. There is no need to rebalance and recalibrate monitoring
equipment every 2 hours.
Questions and Answers,
Exams of Nursing
Guaranteed A+ Certified Pass
. A patient who has been in the intensive care unit for 4 days has disturbed
sensory perception from sleep deprivation. Which action should the nurse include
in the plan of care?
a. Administer prescribed sedatives or opioids at bedtime to promote sleep.
b. Cluster nursing activities so that the patient has uninterrupted rest periods.
c. Silence the alarms on the cardiac monitors to allow 30- to 40-minute naps.
d. Eliminate assessments between 2200 and 0600 to allow uninterrupted sleep. -
ANSWERS-ANS: B
Clustering nursing activities and providing uninterrupted rest periods will minimize
sleep-cycle disruption. Sedative and opioid medications tend to decrease the
amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and can contribute to sleep
disturbance and disturbed sensory perception. Silencing the alarms on the cardiac
monitors would be unsafe in a critically ill patient, as would discontinuing all
assessments during the night.
Which hemodynamic parameter best reflects the effectiveness of drugs that the
nurse gives to reduce a patient's left ventricular afterload?
a. Mean arterial pressure (MAP)
,b. Systemic vascular resistance (SVR)
c. Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR)
d. Pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) - ANSWERS-ANS: B
SVR reflects the resistance to ventricular ejection, or afterload. The other
parameters may be monitored but do not reflect afterload as directly.
1. While close family members are visiting, a patient has a respiratory arrest, and
resuscitation is started. Which action by the nurse is best?
a. Tell the family members that watching the resuscitation will be very stressful.
b. Ask family members if they wish to remain in the room during the resuscitation.
c. Take the family members quickly out of the patient room and remain with
them.
d. Assign a staff member to wait with family members just outside the patient
room. - ANSWERS-ANS: B
Evidence indicates that many family members want the option of remaining in the
room during procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and that this
decreases anxiety and facilitates grieving. The other options may be appropriate if
the family decides not to remain with the patient.
After surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a patient's central venous
pressure (CVP) monitor indicates low pressures. Which action should the nurse
take?
a. Administer IV diuretic medications.
b. Increase the IV fluid infusion per protocol.
c. Increase the infusion rate of IV vasodilators.
d. Elevate the head of the patient's bed to 45 degrees. - ANSWERS-ANS: B
, A low CVP indicates hypovolemia and a need for an increase in the infusion rate.
Diuretic administration will contribute to hypovolemia and elevation of the head
or increasing vasodilators may decrease cerebral perfusion.
1. When caring for a patient with pulmonary hypertension, which parameter will
the nurse use to directly evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment?
a. Central venous pressure (CVP)
b. Systemic vascular resistance (SVR)
c. Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR)
d. Pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) - ANSWERS-ANS: C
PVR is a major contributor to pulmonary hypertension, and a decrease would
indicate that pulmonary hypertension was improving. The other parameters may
also be monitored but do not directly assess for pulmonary hypertension.
What action by a new intensive care unit staff nurse would indicate that the nurse
educator's teaching about arterial pressure monitoring has been effective?
a. Balances and calibrates the monitoring equipment every 2 hours.
b. Positions the zero-reference stopcock line level with the phlebostatic axis.
c. Ensures that the patient is supine with the head of the bed flat for all readings.
d. Rechecks the location of the phlebostatic axis with changes in the patient's
position. - ANSWERS-ANS: B
For accurate measurement of pressures, the zero-reference level should be at the
phlebostatic axis. There is no need to rebalance and recalibrate monitoring
equipment every 2 hours.
