1.

    Answer A. The body’s thermostat is located in the hypothalamus; therefore, injury to that area can cause problems of
body temperature control. Balance and equilibrium problems are related to cerebellar damage. Visual acuity problems would
occur following occipital or optic nerve injury. Thinking and reasoning problems are the result of injury to the cerebrum.
2.    Answer C. Administering lidocaine via an endotracheal tube may minimize elevations in ICP caused by suctioning.
Although mannitol and furosemide may be given to reduce ICP, they’re administered parenterally, not endotracheally.
Phenytoin doesn’t reduce ICP directly but may be used to abolish seizures, which can increase ICP. However, phenytoin isn’t
administered endotracheally.
3.    Answer C.  The client’s history and assessment suggest that he may have increased intracranial pressure (ICP). If this is
the case, lumbar puncture shouldn’t be done because it can quickly decompress the central nervous system and, thereby,
cause additional damage. After a head injury, barbiturates may be given to prevent seizures; mechanical ventilation may be
required if breathing deteriorates; and elevating the head of the bed may be used to reduce ICP.
4.    Answer A.  The sudden appearance of light flashes and floaters in front of the affected eye is characteristic of retinal
detachment. Difficulty seeing cars in another driving lane suggests gradual loss of peripheral vision, which may indicate
glaucoma. Headache, nausea, and redness of the eyes are signs of acute (angle-closure) glaucoma. Double vision is common
in clients with cataracts.
5.    Answer B.  In Parkinson’s crisis, dopamine-related symptoms are severely exacerbated, virtually immobilizing the client. A
client confined to bed during such a crisis is at risk for aspiration and pneumonia. Also, excessive drooling increases the risk of
airway obstruction. Because of these concerns, the nursing diagnosis of Ineffective airway clearance takes highest priority.
Although the other options also are appropriate, they aren’t immediately life-threatening.
6.    Answer A. Staying with the client and encouraging him to feed himself will ensure adequate food intake. A client with
Alzheimer’s disease can forget how to eat. Allowing privacy during meals, filling out the menu, or helping the client to
complete the menu doesn’t ensure adequate nutritional intake.
7.    Answer C. The mental status examination assesses functions governed by the cerebrum. Some of these are orientation,
attention span, judgment, and abstract reasoning. Intellectual functioning isn’t the only cerebral activity. Cerebellar function
testing assesses coordination, equilibrium, and fine motor movement. Sensory function testing involves assessment of pain,
light-touch sensation, and temperature discrimination.
8.    Answer B. When used to treat status epilepticus, diazepam may be given every 10 to 15 minutes, as needed, to a
maximum dose of 30 mg. The nurse can repeat the regimen in 2 to 4 hours, if necessary, but the total dose shouldn’t exceed
100 mg in 24 hours. The nurse must not administer I.V. diazepam faster than 5 mg/minute. Therefore, the dose can’t be
repeated in 30 to 45 seconds because the first dose wouldn’t have been administered completely by that time. Waiting
longer than 15 minutes to repeat the dose would increase the client’s risk of complications associated with status epilepticus.
9.    Answer D. Atropine sulfate is a cholinergic blocker. It isn’t a parasympathomimetic agent, a sympatholytic agent, or an
adrenergic blocker.
10.    Answer A. In the scenario, airway and breathing are established so the nurse’s next priority should be circulation. With a
compound fracture of the femur, there is a high risk of profuse bleeding; therefore, the nurse should assess the site.
Neurologic assessment is a secondary concern to airway, breathing, and circulation. The nurse doesn’t have enough data to
warrant putting the client in Trendelenburg’s position.
11.    Answer B. Dexamethasone exerts its therapeutic effect by decreasing leukocyte infiltration at the site of ocular
inflammation. This reduces the exudative reaction of diseased tissue, lessening edema, redness, and scarring.
Dexamethasone and other anti-inflammatory agents don’t inhibit the action of carbonic anhydrase or produce any type of
miotic reaction.
12.    Answer C. Urine retention or incontinence may indicate cauda equina syndrome, which requires immediate surgery. An
increase in pain on the second postoperative day is common because the long-acting local anesthetic, which may have been
injected during surgery, will wear off. While paresthesia is common after surgery, progressive weakness or paralysis may
indicate spinal nerve compression. A mild fever is also common after surgery but is considered significant only if it reaches
101° F (38.3° C).
13.    Answer B. The abbreviation "gtt" stands for drop, "i" is the apothecary symbol for the number 1, OU signifies both eyes,
and "q.i.d." means four times a day. Therefore, one drop of pilocarpine 0.25% should be instilled into both eyes four times
daily.
14.    Answer B. Using a mirror enables the client to inspect all areas of the skin for signs of breakdown without the help of
staff or family members. The client should keep the side rails up to help with repositioning and to prevent falls. The paralyzed
client should take responsibility for repositioning or for reminding the staff to assist with it, if needed. A client with left-side
paralysis may not realize that the left arm is hanging over the side of the wheelchair. However, the nurse should call this to
the client’s attention because the arm can get caught in the wheel spokes or develop impaired circulation from being in a
dependent position for too long.
15.    Answer C. A helicopod gait is an abnormal gait in which the client’s feet make a half circle with each step. An ataxic gait
is staggering and unsteady. In a dystrophic gait, the client waddles with the legs far apart. In a steppage gait, the feet and toes
raise high off the floor and the heel comes down heavily with each step.
16.    Answer B.  A client with bacterial meningitis should be kept in isolation for at least 24 hours after admission and, during
the initial acute phase, should be as close to the nurses’ station as possible to allow maximal observation. Placing the client in
a room with a client who has viral meningitis may cause harm to both clients because the organisms causing viral and
bacterial meningitis differ; either client may contract the other’s disease. Immunity to bacterial meningitis can’t be acquired;
therefore, a client who previously had bacterial meningitis shouldn’t be put at risk by rooming with a client who has just been
diagnosed with this disease.
17.    Answer C. Anticholinesterase agents such as pyridostigmine are contraindicated in a client with a mechanical
obstruction of the intestines or urinary tract, peritonitis, or hypersensitivity to anticholinesterase agents. Ulcerative colitis,
blood dyscrasia, and spinal cord injury don’t contraindicate use of the drug.
18.    Answer A. Ménière’s disease, an inner ear disease, is characterized by the symptom triad of vertigo, tinnitus, and
hearing loss. The combination of vertigo, vomiting, and nystagmus suggests labyrinthitis. Ménière’s disease rarely causes
pain, blurred vision, or fever.
19.    Answer D. For 30 days after a stapedectomy, the client should avoid air travel, sudden movements that may cause
trauma, and exposure to loud sounds and pressure changes (such as from high altitudes). Immediately after surgery, the
client should lie flat with the surgical ear facing upward; nose blowing is permitted but should be done gently and on one side
at a time. The client’s first attempt at postoperative ambulation should be supervised to prevent falls caused by vertigo and
light-headedness. The client must avoid shampooing and swimming to keep the dressing and the ear dry.
20.    Answer C. The most common adverse reaction to dantrolene is muscle weakness. The drug also may depress liver
function or cause idiosyncratic hepatitis. Muscle weakness is rarely severe enough to cause slurring of speech, drooling, and
enuresis. Although excessive tearing and urine retention are adverse reactions associated with dantrolene use, they aren’t as
common as muscle weakness
21.    Answer A. Systemic absorption of atropine sulfate can cause tachycardia, palpitations, flushing, dry skin, ataxia, and
confusion. To minimize systemic absorption, the client should apply digital pressure over the punctum at the inner canthus
for 2 to 3 minutes after instilling the drops. The drug also may cause dry mouth. It isn’t known to cause hypotension or apnea.
22.    Answer B. Because a cervical spine injury can cause respiratory distress, the nurse should take immediate action to
maintain a patent airway and provide adequate oxygenation. The other options may be appropriate for a client with a spinal
cord injury — particularly during the course of recovery — but don’t take precedence over a diagnosis of Ineffective breathing
pattern.
23.    Answer D. In addition to relieving painful muscle spasms, diazepam also is recommended for treatment of spasticity
associated with spinal cord lesions. Diazepam’s use is limited by its central nervous system effects and the tolerance that
develops with prolonged use. The parenteral form of diazepam can treat status epilepticus, but the drug’s sedating properties
make it an unsuitable choice for long-term management of epilepsy. Diazepam isn’t an analgesic agent.
24.    Answer C. To elicit the oculocephalic response, which detects cranial nerve compression, the nurse turns the client’s
head suddenly while holding the eyelids open. Normally, the eyes move from side to side when the head is turned; in an
abnormal response, the eyes remain fixed. The nurse introduces ice water into the external auditory canal when testing the
oculovestibular response; normally, the client’s eyes deviate to the side of ice water introduction. The nurse touches the
client’s cornea with a wisp of cotton to elicit the corneal reflex response, which reveals brain stem function; blinking is the
normal response. Shining a bright light into the client’s pupil helps evaluate brain stem and cranial nerve III functions;
normally, the pupil responds by constricting.
25.    Answer D. The nurse must cautiously administer pancuronium, succinylcholine, and any other neuromuscular blocking
agent to a client with myasthenia gravis. Such a client isn’t less sensitive to the effects of a neuromuscular blocking agent.
Either succinylcholine or pancuronium can be administered in the usual adult dosage to a client with myasthenia gravis.
26.    Answer B. Cones provide daylight color vision, and their stimulation is interpreted as color. If one or more types of cones
are absent or defective, color blindness occurs. Rods are sensitive to low levels of illumination but can’t discriminate color.
The lens is responsible for focusing images. Aqueous humor is a clear watery fluid and isn’t involved with color perception.
27.    Answer C.  Decerebrate posturing, characterized by abnormal extension in response to painful stimuli, indicates damage
to the midbrain. With damage to the diencephalon or cortex, abnormal flexion (decorticate posturing) occurs when a painful
stimulus is applied. Damage to the medulla results in flaccidity.
28.    Answer A. Vision changes, such as diplopia, nystagmus, and blurred vision, are symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Deep
tendon reflexes may be increased or hyperactive — not absent. Babinski’s sign may be positive. Tremors at rest aren’t
characteristic of multiple sclerosis; however, intentional tremors, or those occurring with purposeful voluntary movement,
are common in clients with multiple sclerosis. Affected muscles are spastic, rather than flaccid.
29.    Answer D. The headache may be an indication that the aneurysm is leaking. The nurse should notify the physician
immediately. Sitting with the client is appropriate but only after the physician has been notified of the change in the client’s
condition. The physician will decide whether or not administration of an analgesic is indicated. Informing the nurse manager
isn’t necessary.
30.    Answer D. Swallowing is a motor function of cranial nerves IX and X. Cranial nerves I, II, and VIII don’t possess motor
functions. The motor functions of cranial nerve III include extraocular eye movement, eyelid elevation, and pupil constriction.
The motor function of cranial nerve V is chewing. Cranial nerve VI controls lateral eye movement.