CAPA COMPREHENSIVE ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS
SET A+
✔✔D. Reposition to facilitate venous return - ✔✔A patient arrives in the PACU after a
dilation and curettage. Initial assessment of the patient reveals BP 90/60, HR 62, RR
16, and SaO2 93%. Five minutes later after receiving a bonus of 500ml of Lactated
ringer's solution, the patient's BP 80/40, HR 52, RR 16, SaO2 92%. The PACU nurse's
next most appropriate action is to:
A. Prepare to intubate
B. Recheck blood pressure in 2 minutes
C. Prepare to transfuse blood products
D. Reposition to facilitate venous return
✔✔A. Supported with education for patients and family - ✔✔According to the ASPAN's
most current Perianesthesia Nursing Standards, Practice Recommendations and
Interpretive Statements, visitation in the phase I level of care is:
A. Supported with education for patients and family
B. Discouraged due to privacy and emergency concerns
C. Considered a standard of care in current practice
D. Prohibited except for pediatric, intensive care, and overnight patients
✔✔A. Consensual pupillary reflex, and is a normal response - ✔✔The perianesthesia
nurse is aware that the constriction of the pupil in response to a light and the
simultaneous constriction of the opposite pupil is a:
A. Consensual pupillary reflex, and is a normal response
B. Direct pupillary reflex, and is an abnormal response
C. Direct pupillary reflex, and is a normal response
D. Consensual pupillary reflex, and is an abnormal response
✔✔B. Retain the operating room nurse - ✔✔One perianesthesia nurse is present in the
phase I PACU when a pediatric patient arrives earlier than planned. The perianesthesia
nurse's next appropriate course of action is to:
, A. Ask the operating room aide to assist
B. Retain the operating room nurse
C. Ask the patient's family to come to the bedside
D. Call in the anesthesia technician for assistance
✔✔B. A low Hgb level - ✔✔Despite an SpO2 reading of 100%, a patient has a low
arterial O2 content level. The perianesthesia nurse suspects:
A. Hypovolemia
B. A low Hgb level
C. Hyperthermia
D. An elevated HCT
✔✔C. Altered hepatic function tests
HELLP syndrome with pre-eclampsia
hemolysis of red blood cells
elevated liver enzymes
low platelets - ✔✔A patient arrives prior to a cesarean section. Vital signs are: BP
138/96, HR 96, and RR 20. The perianesthesia nurse knows that which additional
parameters would indicate pre-eclampsia?
A. Increased urinary output with ketonuria
B. Altered thyroid function tests
C. Altered hepatic function tests
D. Hyperreflexia of dup tendon reflexes
✔✔A. Inform the surgeon that the patient does not have an adult caregiver - ✔✔A
phase I perianesthesia nurse is about to call in a report to phase II, when the patient
states, "I lied to the nurse when I was admitted. I don't have anybody to take care of me
when I go home." The most appropriate response is to:
A. Inform the surgeon that the patient does not have an adult caregiver
B. Call report to phase II and transfer the patient
C. Insist that the patient provide the telephone number of a friend
D. Ask the surgeon to write an order for the patient to be discharged alone
✔✔A. They will wait for the minister - ✔✔A perianesthesia nurse arrives ahead of
schedule to take a patient into surgery. The patient wants to pray prior to surgery and
anxiously tells the nurse that a minister will be arriving in 5 minutes. The nurse tells the
patient that:
A. They will wait for the minister
B. Surgery cannot be delayed
C. The prayer may be offered after surgery
SET A+
✔✔D. Reposition to facilitate venous return - ✔✔A patient arrives in the PACU after a
dilation and curettage. Initial assessment of the patient reveals BP 90/60, HR 62, RR
16, and SaO2 93%. Five minutes later after receiving a bonus of 500ml of Lactated
ringer's solution, the patient's BP 80/40, HR 52, RR 16, SaO2 92%. The PACU nurse's
next most appropriate action is to:
A. Prepare to intubate
B. Recheck blood pressure in 2 minutes
C. Prepare to transfuse blood products
D. Reposition to facilitate venous return
✔✔A. Supported with education for patients and family - ✔✔According to the ASPAN's
most current Perianesthesia Nursing Standards, Practice Recommendations and
Interpretive Statements, visitation in the phase I level of care is:
A. Supported with education for patients and family
B. Discouraged due to privacy and emergency concerns
C. Considered a standard of care in current practice
D. Prohibited except for pediatric, intensive care, and overnight patients
✔✔A. Consensual pupillary reflex, and is a normal response - ✔✔The perianesthesia
nurse is aware that the constriction of the pupil in response to a light and the
simultaneous constriction of the opposite pupil is a:
A. Consensual pupillary reflex, and is a normal response
B. Direct pupillary reflex, and is an abnormal response
C. Direct pupillary reflex, and is a normal response
D. Consensual pupillary reflex, and is an abnormal response
✔✔B. Retain the operating room nurse - ✔✔One perianesthesia nurse is present in the
phase I PACU when a pediatric patient arrives earlier than planned. The perianesthesia
nurse's next appropriate course of action is to:
, A. Ask the operating room aide to assist
B. Retain the operating room nurse
C. Ask the patient's family to come to the bedside
D. Call in the anesthesia technician for assistance
✔✔B. A low Hgb level - ✔✔Despite an SpO2 reading of 100%, a patient has a low
arterial O2 content level. The perianesthesia nurse suspects:
A. Hypovolemia
B. A low Hgb level
C. Hyperthermia
D. An elevated HCT
✔✔C. Altered hepatic function tests
HELLP syndrome with pre-eclampsia
hemolysis of red blood cells
elevated liver enzymes
low platelets - ✔✔A patient arrives prior to a cesarean section. Vital signs are: BP
138/96, HR 96, and RR 20. The perianesthesia nurse knows that which additional
parameters would indicate pre-eclampsia?
A. Increased urinary output with ketonuria
B. Altered thyroid function tests
C. Altered hepatic function tests
D. Hyperreflexia of dup tendon reflexes
✔✔A. Inform the surgeon that the patient does not have an adult caregiver - ✔✔A
phase I perianesthesia nurse is about to call in a report to phase II, when the patient
states, "I lied to the nurse when I was admitted. I don't have anybody to take care of me
when I go home." The most appropriate response is to:
A. Inform the surgeon that the patient does not have an adult caregiver
B. Call report to phase II and transfer the patient
C. Insist that the patient provide the telephone number of a friend
D. Ask the surgeon to write an order for the patient to be discharged alone
✔✔A. They will wait for the minister - ✔✔A perianesthesia nurse arrives ahead of
schedule to take a patient into surgery. The patient wants to pray prior to surgery and
anxiously tells the nurse that a minister will be arriving in 5 minutes. The nurse tells the
patient that:
A. They will wait for the minister
B. Surgery cannot be delayed
C. The prayer may be offered after surgery
