Critical Care HESI Exam Questions and
Verified Answers
A-line complications - ✔✔Thrombosis (if flushing is not done properly)
Embolism (could be blood clot or an air embolism)
Blood loss (sudden dislodgment from the artery or disconnection)
Infection (if the cath is left in place for a prolonged period of time)
A-line uses - ✔✔Hemodynamically unstable patients to provide a continuous reading of their
pressures.
For frequent blood draws and ABG
For patients with severe vasoconstriction or vasodilation
Abdominal aortic aneurysm signs and symptoms - ✔✔It's caused by atherosclerosis
Most common symptom is abdominal pain or low back pain with the complaint that the client
can feel his own heart beating. You hear a bruit over the abdominal area. There's pulsation in
the upper abdomen.
ABG of ARDS - ✔✔respiratory alkalosis
-very low PaCo2 related to hyperventilation
-PaCo2 continues to decline
-pH is high
,metabolic acidosis
-lactic acid build up
Absolute diagnostic tool for PE - ✔✔CT scan
activities that increase ICP - ✔✔change in bed position, suctioning, turning the head to the side,
coughing, vomiting, valsalva maneuver, straining
Acute Pancreatitis lab values - ✔✔Increased amylase and lipase
High temp, tachycardia, low BP
Low calcium
Addison crisis - ✔✔Give parenteral hydrocortisone (they need steroids) give it IV
They also need large fluid volume replacement
Give insulin because the steroids cause high blood sugar
After aortic aneurysm repair, what are we watching? - ✔✔BUN and Creatinine because kidney
damage may occur.
We are watching and measuring abdominal girth with 2 lines of permanent marker with a tape
measure
Any time the pH is normal - ✔✔fully compensated
, Autonomic Dysreflexia - ✔✔Hyper-reflex occurring after spinal shock
Avoiding ICP with suctioning - ✔✔decrease the number of passes, do not suction more than 15
seconds
Beck's Triad - ✔✔Indicated cardiac tamponade (may not be present until later)
1) Hypotension
2) Muffled heart sounds
3) Elevated venous pressure
Big concern with skull fracture ? - ✔✔CSF leak
Breath sounds with a pneumothorax? - ✔✔no sound
Breath sounds with Atelectasis - ✔✔absent
Cardiac tamponade - ✔✔bleeding into the pericardial sac. Impairs pumping ability of the heart.
Causes increased right atrial pressure and JVD.
Cardiogenic shock - ✔✔Damage to heart (ischemia or impairment of tissue perfusion)
Cause of a Pulmonary embolism - ✔✔clot from DVT, fat embolism
Causes of increased ICP - ✔✔edema, hemorrhage, impaired cerebral auto-regulation,
hydrocephalus
Verified Answers
A-line complications - ✔✔Thrombosis (if flushing is not done properly)
Embolism (could be blood clot or an air embolism)
Blood loss (sudden dislodgment from the artery or disconnection)
Infection (if the cath is left in place for a prolonged period of time)
A-line uses - ✔✔Hemodynamically unstable patients to provide a continuous reading of their
pressures.
For frequent blood draws and ABG
For patients with severe vasoconstriction or vasodilation
Abdominal aortic aneurysm signs and symptoms - ✔✔It's caused by atherosclerosis
Most common symptom is abdominal pain or low back pain with the complaint that the client
can feel his own heart beating. You hear a bruit over the abdominal area. There's pulsation in
the upper abdomen.
ABG of ARDS - ✔✔respiratory alkalosis
-very low PaCo2 related to hyperventilation
-PaCo2 continues to decline
-pH is high
,metabolic acidosis
-lactic acid build up
Absolute diagnostic tool for PE - ✔✔CT scan
activities that increase ICP - ✔✔change in bed position, suctioning, turning the head to the side,
coughing, vomiting, valsalva maneuver, straining
Acute Pancreatitis lab values - ✔✔Increased amylase and lipase
High temp, tachycardia, low BP
Low calcium
Addison crisis - ✔✔Give parenteral hydrocortisone (they need steroids) give it IV
They also need large fluid volume replacement
Give insulin because the steroids cause high blood sugar
After aortic aneurysm repair, what are we watching? - ✔✔BUN and Creatinine because kidney
damage may occur.
We are watching and measuring abdominal girth with 2 lines of permanent marker with a tape
measure
Any time the pH is normal - ✔✔fully compensated
, Autonomic Dysreflexia - ✔✔Hyper-reflex occurring after spinal shock
Avoiding ICP with suctioning - ✔✔decrease the number of passes, do not suction more than 15
seconds
Beck's Triad - ✔✔Indicated cardiac tamponade (may not be present until later)
1) Hypotension
2) Muffled heart sounds
3) Elevated venous pressure
Big concern with skull fracture ? - ✔✔CSF leak
Breath sounds with a pneumothorax? - ✔✔no sound
Breath sounds with Atelectasis - ✔✔absent
Cardiac tamponade - ✔✔bleeding into the pericardial sac. Impairs pumping ability of the heart.
Causes increased right atrial pressure and JVD.
Cardiogenic shock - ✔✔Damage to heart (ischemia or impairment of tissue perfusion)
Cause of a Pulmonary embolism - ✔✔clot from DVT, fat embolism
Causes of increased ICP - ✔✔edema, hemorrhage, impaired cerebral auto-regulation,
hydrocephalus
