ATI Pretest: Nutrition, Feeding, and
Eating
A nurse is caring for a patient who has impaired swallowing due to a cerebrovascular
accident. Which of the following interventions should the nurse use to assist the patient with
feeding?
A) Provide the patient with a straw
B) Offer the patient thin fluids
C) Elevate the head of the bed 45 to 90 degrees
D) Place food in the weaker side of the mouth - ANS-C) Elevate the head of the bed 45 to 90
degrees
The patients head should be sufficiently elevated to prevent aspiration.
A nurse is caring for a patient who has sustained a head injury and whose level of
consciousness fluctuates. The provider prescribes a full liquid diet progressing to a pureed
diet as tolerated. Before initiating feedings, it is essential that this patient undergo which of
the following?
A) CXR
B) Swallowing Examination
C) Nasogastric tube Insertion
D) Olfactory nerve evaluation - ANS-B) Swallowing Examination
Patients at high risk for aspiration include those with a decreased level of consciousness.
Thispatient has some periods of decreases alertness, thus a swallowing examination is
essential to determine his ability to ingest food safely by mouth.
A nurse is performing a nutritional assessment. When obtaining and interpreting
anthropometric values, the nurse should recognize which of the following?
A) Isolated measurements of height and weight are of greater significance than changes
over time
B) A weight increase of 4lbs in a patient with renal failure indicates retention of 1000mL of
lfuid
C) the patient should be weighed on the same scale at the same time each day
D) the ratio of height to wrist circumference is the most accurate way to identify obesity -
ANS-C) the patient should be weighed on the same scale at the same time each day
Weighing a patient on the same scale at the same time of day provides the most consistent
data for gauging trends in the patients weight, as shifts in fluid intake and output can alter
weight significantly. The patient should also be weighed with he same amount of clothing
and/or linen each time.
A nurse should recognize that which of the following is correct regarding albumin level as a
diagnostic marker for nutritional status? - ANS-Albumin level is a poor short-term indicator of
protein status.
Albumin is not sensitive to acute changes in nutritional status. ITs long half (21 days) makes
it better indicator of chronic illness states than of current protein status at a given point in
time.
Eating
A nurse is caring for a patient who has impaired swallowing due to a cerebrovascular
accident. Which of the following interventions should the nurse use to assist the patient with
feeding?
A) Provide the patient with a straw
B) Offer the patient thin fluids
C) Elevate the head of the bed 45 to 90 degrees
D) Place food in the weaker side of the mouth - ANS-C) Elevate the head of the bed 45 to 90
degrees
The patients head should be sufficiently elevated to prevent aspiration.
A nurse is caring for a patient who has sustained a head injury and whose level of
consciousness fluctuates. The provider prescribes a full liquid diet progressing to a pureed
diet as tolerated. Before initiating feedings, it is essential that this patient undergo which of
the following?
A) CXR
B) Swallowing Examination
C) Nasogastric tube Insertion
D) Olfactory nerve evaluation - ANS-B) Swallowing Examination
Patients at high risk for aspiration include those with a decreased level of consciousness.
Thispatient has some periods of decreases alertness, thus a swallowing examination is
essential to determine his ability to ingest food safely by mouth.
A nurse is performing a nutritional assessment. When obtaining and interpreting
anthropometric values, the nurse should recognize which of the following?
A) Isolated measurements of height and weight are of greater significance than changes
over time
B) A weight increase of 4lbs in a patient with renal failure indicates retention of 1000mL of
lfuid
C) the patient should be weighed on the same scale at the same time each day
D) the ratio of height to wrist circumference is the most accurate way to identify obesity -
ANS-C) the patient should be weighed on the same scale at the same time each day
Weighing a patient on the same scale at the same time of day provides the most consistent
data for gauging trends in the patients weight, as shifts in fluid intake and output can alter
weight significantly. The patient should also be weighed with he same amount of clothing
and/or linen each time.
A nurse should recognize that which of the following is correct regarding albumin level as a
diagnostic marker for nutritional status? - ANS-Albumin level is a poor short-term indicator of
protein status.
Albumin is not sensitive to acute changes in nutritional status. ITs long half (21 days) makes
it better indicator of chronic illness states than of current protein status at a given point in
time.
