Medical Tests CEN Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

Medical Tests CEN Online Questions & Answers

• Question 121:

  You are caring for a patient with a chest tube. When you turn the patient to the side the tube comes disconnected. What action should you take next?

  A. Notify the physician
  B. Place the tube in a bottle of sterile water
  C. Replace the chest tube
  D. Put a sterile dressing over the disconnected site
  B. Place the tube in a bottle of sterile water

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  The nurse should immediately place the tube in a bottle of sterile water. The system can then be replaced if necessary. A sterile dressing will not prevent complications associated with disconnection. The physician will need to be notified after the tube has been placed in sterile water.

• Question 122:

  You are assisting the physician with removal of a chest tube. The nurse should instruct the patient to:

  A. Remain very still.
  B. Inhale and exhale quickly.
  C. Exhale slowly.
  D. Perform the Valsalva's maneuver.
  D. Perform the Valsalva's maneuver.

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  The nurse should instruct the patient to perform the Valsalva's maneuver (take a deep breathe, exhale and bear down). Then the tube would be quickly removed and an airtight dressing placed. An alternative would be to ask the patient to take a deep breathe and hold the breath while the tube is removed.

• Question 123:

  You are caring for a patient with major depression. The patient has become unable to complete her activities of daily living (ADLs). What intervention should the nurse take to help this patient?

  A. Complete all ADLs for the patient until the patient is able to do so for herself.
  B. Adjust the patient's schedule so that there is enough time for her to complete all her ADLs.
  C. Give the patient consequences for not completing ADLs.
  D. Have peers confront the patient on how noncompliance affects the unit.
  A. Complete all ADLs for the patient until the patient is able to do so for herself.

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  Until the patient is able to complete the ADLs, the nurse should complete them for the patient. The symptoms of major depression are depressed mood, loss of interest, changes in appetite and sleep patterns, agitation, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness and recurrent thoughts of death. The patient will not have the energy or interest in completing her ADLs.

• Question 124:

  Your patient has been stung by a bee. What signs and symptoms would you see if the patient had an allergic reaction to the sting?

  A. Normal respiratory rate
  B. Prolonged expiratory phase
  C. Wheezing on inspiration
  D. Decreased respiratory rate
  B. Prolonged expiratory phase

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  The nurse would want to monitor the patient for a prolonged expiratory phase. The allergic reaction would lead to air trapping and alveoli distention that occurs as a result of an anaphylactic response. Respiratory rate will be within normal limits, and wheezing occurs on expiration due to constricted bronchi.

• Question 125:

  What intervention would you need to take if your patient had a contusion of the eyeball following a traumatic injury?

  A. Notify the physician.
  B. Irrigate the eye with cool water.
  C. Apply ice to the affected eye.
  D. Accompany the patient to the emergency room.
  C. Apply ice to the affected eye.

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  The priority intervention for this patient would be to apply ice to the affected eye. The patient should then be seen by a physician to rule out any other eye injury. Do not irrigate the eye with cool water until it is examined by a physician.

• Question 126:

  Your patient has arrived in the emergency department with a penetrating eye injury. You are assessing the patient. What should your first action be?

  A. Remove any objects from the eye.
  B. Place a patch over the eye.
  C. Perform a visual acuity test.
  D. Use sterile saline to irrigate the eye.
  C. Perform a visual acuity test.

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  You would want to perform visual acuity tests on the affected eye first. This allows the nurse to assess any damage to the vision. Any foreign objects in the eye should only be removed by an ophthalmologist. Do not cover or rinse eye because it may dislodge foreign objects and cause further damage to the eye.

• Question 127:

  You are caring for a patient with suspected cystic fibrosis. A sweat test has been performed on the child. Which of the following test results would be considered a positive result?

  A. Chloride of 20 mEq/L
  B. Chloride of 30 mEq/L
  C. Chloride of 40 mEq/L
  D. Chloride of 70 mEq/L
  D. Chloride of 70 mEq/L

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  A chloride of 70 mEq/L would indicate a positive sweat test. In a sweat test, sweating is stimulated on the forearm with pilocarpine, and the amounts of sodium and chloride are measured. At least 50 mg of sweat is required to get an accurate test. A chloride level of 60 mEq/L or greater is considered a positive test.

• Question 128:

  Which of the following would be associated with detached retina?

  A. Pain in the affected eye
  B. Total loss of vision
  C. Feeling like a curtain had fallen over their eyes
  D. Yellow discoloration of the scleroses
  C. Feeling like a curtain had fallen over their eyes

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  A patient with a detached retinapatient would complain of a sense of a curtain falling across their field of vision There is no pain associated with retinal detachment, but it is an ophthalmic emergency in that immediate steps must be taken to protect the patient's vision.

• Question 129:

  You are caring for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This patient would be most likely to develop which acid-base imbalance?

  A. Respiratory acidosis
  B. Respiratory alkalosis
  C. Metabolic acidosis
  D. Metabolic alkalosis
  A. Respiratory acidosis

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  A patient with COPD would be more likely to develop respiratory acidosis. Hypoventilation by the patient leads to respiratory acidosis. End-stage disease leads to airway collapse, air trapping and disturbance of ventilation- perfusion relationships.

• Question 130:

  You are caring for a patient with a gunshot wound. As a result of the patient's Coumadin therapy, the prothrombin time is twice the normal amount. Which blood product do you expect the physician to order?

  A. Fresh frozen plasma
  B. Random donor platelets
  C. Red blood cells
  D. Crystalloids
  A. Fresh frozen plasma

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  The patient with a prothrombin time greater than 1.5 times normal who is bleeding should receive fresh frozen plasma. A patient with thrombocytopenia would receive platelets. Anemic patients receive red blood cells, and crystalloids help establish and maintain fluid and electrolyte balance.