Physiological Adaptation Flashcards
7 cards from real NACE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Physiological Adaptation flashcards as text
A patient with cirrhosis develops asterixis, confusion, and elevated ammonia levels. Which physiological process is occurring?
Answer: Hepatic encephalopathy from impaired ammonia detoxification
Hepatic encephalopathy results from the failing liver's inability to convert ammonia to urea, allowing ammonia to cross the blood-brain barrier and impair neurological function.
A patient on mechanical ventilation has a PaCO2 of 55 mmHg and pH of 7.28. The ventilator rate is 12 breaths/min. What adjustment would correct the respiratory acidosis?
Answer: Increase the respiratory rate
Increasing the respiratory rate increases minute ventilation, eliminating more CO2 and correcting respiratory acidosis.
A patient develops compartment syndrome in the left leg after a tibial fracture. Which assessment finding is most diagnostic?
Answer: Pain out of proportion to injury unrelieved by opioids, worsened with passive stretch
Pain disproportionate to the injury that worsens with passive muscle stretching is the hallmark early sign of compartment syndrome due to elevated intracompartmental pressure.
A patient with heart failure is prescribed furosemide. Which electrolyte imbalance is the priority concern?
Answer: Hypokalemia
Loop diuretics like furosemide inhibit sodium-potassium-chloride reabsorption in the loop of Henle, causing significant potassium wasting and hypokalemia.
A patient with Addison's disease presents with severe hypotension, hyponatremia, and hyperkalemia. Which pathophysiological mechanism explains these findings?
Answer: Aldosterone deficiency impairing sodium retention and potassium excretion
Aldosterone deficiency in Addison's disease prevents sodium reabsorption and potassium excretion in the kidney, leading to hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, and volume depletion.
A patient with severe burns covering 40% TBSA is in the first 24 hours post-injury. Which physiological change requires the most aggressive fluid resuscitation?
Answer: Massive fluid shift from intravascular to interstitial space due to increased capillary permeability
Burn injury causes massive capillary leak syndrome, shifting large volumes from the intravascular to interstitial compartment, causing hypovolemic shock within hours.
A post-operative patient develops a fever of 38.9°C on day 3 after abdominal surgery. Which is the most likely physiological cause?
Answer: Wound infection establishing at the surgical site
Wound infection typically presents between post-operative days 3-5 as bacteria proliferate and the inflammatory response produces systemic fever.