Please read the clinical scenario, and then answer the question that follow to become familiar with the traditional NCLEX question format.
A 24-year-old male arrives at the emergency department via air transport after sustaining a fall while rock climbing. The patient is minimally responsive with sluggishly reactive pupils upon arrival. He is requiring support with mechanical ventilation. A CT scan reveals multiple head bleeds and intracranial swelling. The patient has obvious fractures of his bilateral upper extremities and right leg. The patient is rushed to surgery with the plan to relieve the pressure of the intracranial swelling.
-Following the patient's surgical procedure,he is admitted to the neurological intensive care unit.Interventions are implemented to decrease intracranial pressure,including the administration of intravenous hypertonic saline.Which of the following do you anticipate as the therapeutic response to the administration of this medication?

Question

Please read the clinical scenario, and then answer the question that follow to become familiar with the traditional NCLEX question format.
  A 24-year-old male arrives at the emergency department via air transport after sustaining a fall while rock climbing. The patient is minimally responsive with sluggishly reactive pupils upon arrival. He is requiring support with mechanical ventilation. A CT scan reveals multiple head bleeds and intracranial swelling. The patient has obvious fractures of his bilateral upper extremities and right leg. The patient is rushed to surgery with the plan to relieve the pressure of the intracranial swelling.
-Following the patient's surgical procedure,he is admitted to the neurological intensive care unit.Interventions are implemented to decrease intracranial pressure,including the administration of intravenous hypertonic saline.Which of the following do you anticipate as the therapeutic response to the administration of this medication?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Hypertonic saline is administered to decrease intracranial pressure by drawing fluid out of the extravascular space and into the intravascular space, resulting in decreased extravascular volume and increased intravascular volume.

Please Read the Clinical Scenario, and Then Answer the Question