Patient Safety Protocols Flashcards

How long does status epilepticus need to last before it is treated as an emergency under current definitions?

Answer: 5 minutes

ILAE defines convulsive status epilepticus at 5 minutes (t1), when benzodiazepine treatment should begin.

What is the first-line medication for status epilepticus?

Answer: IV lorazepam or IM midazolam

Benzodiazepines are first-line, with second-line agents such as fosphenytoin, levetiracetam, or valproate after that.

A patient with a subarachnoid hemorrhage is on nimodipine. Which safety check comes before each dose?

Answer: Blood pressure

Nimodipine can cause hypotension, which may worsen cerebral perfusion, so BP is checked before each dose.

Why must nimodipine never be given IV?

Answer: IV administration has caused cardiac arrest and severe hypotension

FDA warnings note fatal outcomes when nimodipine capsule contents were injected IV, so it must be given orally or enterally.

Which practice best reduces fall risk in an impulsive stroke patient with left neglect?

Answer: Place essential items on the unaffected right side and use a bed alarm

Items within the attended visual field plus a bed or chair alarm reduce unassisted transfers and falls in patients with neglect.

What is the main purpose of a structured handoff tool such as SBAR on a neuro unit?

Answer: Standardize communication and reduce information loss between providers

Communication failures are a leading root cause of sentinel events, and SBAR standardizes critical information transfer.

A patient with an external ventricular drain needs to be repositioned. What should the nurse do first?

Answer: Clamp the drain per protocol, then re-level at the tragus after moving

Clamping during movement prevents over-drainage, and re-leveling at the foramen of Monro (tragus) keeps CSF drainage accurate.