Thermoregulation Flashcards
7 cards from real RNC-NIC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Thermoregulation flashcards as text
A 28-week preterm infant is in an incubator set to servo-control mode. The abdominal skin temperature reads 36.0°C. What is the most appropriate nursing action?
Answer: Check probe placement and ensure good skin contact
A falsely low skin temperature reading is most often caused by a displaced or poorly adhered servo-control probe, so verifying probe placement is the first step.
Which mechanism of heat loss is most significant when a newborn is placed on a cold scale without a cover?
Answer: Conduction
Direct contact between the infant's skin and a cool surface transfers heat by conduction.
A term neonate born via cesarean section is brought to the warmer. The nurse notes the infant is wet with amniotic fluid. Which intervention should be performed FIRST?
Answer: Thoroughly dry the infant and remove wet linens
Drying the infant and removing wet linens immediately reduces evaporative heat loss, which is the primary cause of heat loss in a wet newborn.
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis in neonates is stimulated primarily by which mechanism?
Answer: Norepinephrine release activating uncoupling protein-1 in mitochondria
Cold stress triggers norepinephrine release, which activates uncoupling protein-1 (thermogenin) in BAT mitochondria, generating heat through non-shivering thermogenesis.
A nurse is caring for a 32-week infant and notices peripheral vasoconstriction, acrocyanosis, and a widening core-to-peripheral temperature gradient. These findings are MOST consistent with:
Answer: Cold stress
Peripheral vasoconstriction and an increasing core-to-peripheral temperature gradient are early compensatory responses to cold stress in neonates.
What is the primary rationale for placing a polyethylene bag over an extremely premature infant (< 28 weeks) immediately at delivery?
Answer: To decrease evaporative heat loss through the immature skin
Extremely premature skin is highly permeable, and a polyethylene wrap prevents evaporative water and heat loss without requiring drying.
A term infant undergoing therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy should be maintained at which target core temperature?
Answer: 33.5–34.5°C
Evidence-based therapeutic hypothermia protocols target a core temperature of 33.5°C (±0.5°C) for 72 hours to provide neuroprotection.