Dialysis Nursing Flashcards

Between hemodialysis treatments, weight gain shouldn't surpass

Answer: 5% of dry weight

A weight gain of 1 kg (2.2 lb) corresponds to a fluid retention of 1 liter. The ideal post-dialysis weight is dry weight after extra fluid has been eliminated. Patients may put on weight due to the glucose in dialysate solutions or lose weight due to depleted fat or muscle storage, therefore it's crucial to reassess the patient's dry weight at least every two weeks to make sure enough fluid is being removed.

If Ms. Precy's spouse is disease-free, she queries the nurse as to the likelihood that any children may contract the illness. Should the nurse tell the patient that a child will?

Answer: Have a 50% risk of developing the disease

An autosomal dominant illness called polycystic kidney disease typically doesn't manifest until the third or fourth decade of life. Both kidneys are affected, and the cortex and medulla swell with many, sizable cysts that eat away at the kidney tissue.

A chronic kidney disease patient has started threatening a member of his family. He declares that he intends to shoot the victim and that he wants them dead. The major duty of the nurse is to?

Answer: Warn the person at whom the threats are directed.

This example illustrates one situation where confidentiality may be compromised. In Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, the court held that healthcare professionals have a responsibility to alert others who have been threatened by their patient and are in risk. When a patient threatens to hurt another person, warning that person should come first even though the police may need to be called. The attending clinician should also refer the patient for examination to a psychiatrist and should check for uremic encephalopathy, which can cause unusual behavior, but this is not the first concern.

A bloodstream infection (BSI) surveillance system has been installed at a hemodialysis facility. What should be decided after choosing this event for monitoring?

Answer: Time period for observation

The last step is to choose the duration of the observation, which might be a month, quarter, or year. A longer time period is suggested to assure measurement validity if BSIs are uncommon. Following the determination of the surveillance criteria and data items to be gathered, the method for data analysis and the procedures for data collection must be described.

Patients taking oral iron should be encouraged to enhance absorption, right?

Answer: Take the supplement on an empty stomach.

It should be explained to patients that taking the supplement with food may result in decreased absorption. Patients should also refrain from taking supplements containing phosphate binders and should not take enteric-coated medications. Since 325 mg of ferrous sulfate three times per day is equivalent to 200 g of elemental iron per day, it is typically administered to patients.

The gradient of a substance's concentration, such as urea, during peritoneal dialysis

Answer: Decreases

The gradient of a substance's concentration, such urea, diminishes during peritoneal dialysis. In other words, when the concentration is low, more urea diffuses into the implanted dialysate than when the concentration is higher. More frequent exchanges (as with APD, for example) or a larger dwell volume (usually not more than 2.5–3.0 L) can be done to make up for this shift in concentration gradient.

The subcutaneous tunnel's typical length while inserting a catheter for peritoneal dialysis is?

Answer: 3–5 cm

The tunnel travels from the peritoneal cavity to the skin, passing through muscle and subcutaneous tissue. With one cuff distal to the peritoneum and the other subcutaneously at least 2 cm from the exit, the catheters typically have a set of cuffs. The cuffs secure the catheter, stop leaks, and act as barriers to lower the risk of infection.