A 24-year-old male arrives at the emergency department via air transport after sustaining a fall while rock climbing. The patient is unresponsive with sluggishly reactive pupils upon arrival. His right arm and bilateral lower extremities have obvious fractures. He was intubated by EMS and requires mechanical ventilation. A CT scan reveals multiple head bleeds and intracranial swelling with a midline shift. The patient is rushed to surgery with the plan to relieve the pressure of the intracranial swelling.
-The physician orders administration of an intravenous osmotic diuretic as the patient is en route to surgery.As the RN,you are familiar with the action of the drug,which increases the osmolality of the blood.Which of the following do you anticipate as the physiologic response to the administration of this medication?

Question

A 24-year-old male arrives at the emergency department via air transport after sustaining a fall while rock climbing. The patient is unresponsive with sluggishly reactive pupils upon arrival. His right arm and bilateral lower extremities have obvious fractures. He was intubated by EMS and requires mechanical ventilation. A CT scan reveals multiple head bleeds and intracranial swelling with a midline shift. The patient is rushed to surgery with the plan to relieve the pressure of the intracranial swelling.
-The physician orders administration of an intravenous osmotic diuretic as the patient is en route to surgery.As the RN,you are familiar with the action of the drug,which increases the osmolality of the blood.Which of the following do you anticipate as the physiologic response to the administration of this medication?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The osmotic diuretic increases the osmolality of the blood, drawing fluid from the extravascular space into the intravascular space, leading to decreased extravascular volume and increased intravascular volume.

A 24-Year-Old Male Arrives at the Emergency Department Via Air