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
During kangaroo care (skin-to-skin), which physiological mechanism primarily accounts for heat transfer from the parent to the neonate?
Answer: Conduction through direct skin contact
During skin-to-skin care, heat transfers from the warmer parent's skin directly to the cooler neonate's skin via conduction.
A neonate receiving therapeutic hypothermia develops a heart rate of 88 bpm and a core temperature of 33.5°C. What is the MOST appropriate nursing action?
Answer: Notify the physician and continue monitoring, as bradycardia is expected during cooling
Mild bradycardia (HR 80–100 bpm) is an expected and acceptable physiologic response during therapeutic hypothermia and does not require intervention unless accompanied by hemodynamic compromise.
A nurse is caring for a 25-week infant under a radiant warmer with a humidity level of 80%. The purpose of maintaining high humidity is to:
Answer: Reduce transepidermal water loss and evaporative heat loss
High humidity in the incubator or under a radiant warmer reduces the gradient between the infant's skin and the environment, decreasing transepidermal water loss and evaporative heat loss through immature skin.
Which finding would MOST likely indicate that a neonate in therapeutic hypothermia has been rewarmed too rapidly?
Answer: Seizure activity on amplitude-integrated EEG
Rebound seizures are a known complication of excessively rapid rewarming after therapeutic hypothermia and indicate neurological deterioration.
An RNC-NIC nurse knows that the thermoreceptors primarily responsible for initiating non-shivering thermogenesis in neonates are located in the:
Answer: Hypothalamus and spinal cord
Central thermoreceptors in the hypothalamus and spinal cord detect core temperature changes and trigger the sympathetic response that initiates BAT thermogenesis.
A 34-week neonate's temperature drops from 36.8°C to 35.9°C during a bath. This temperature is classified as:
Answer: Mild hypothermia
According to WHO classification, mild hypothermia in neonates is defined as a core temperature of 36.0–36.4°C; a reading of 35.9°C falls just into this category.
When weaning a preterm infant from an incubator to an open crib, which criterion is MOST important to confirm readiness?
Answer: Consistent weight gain and ability to maintain temperature in a gradually cooled incubator
The infant's demonstrated ability to maintain a stable temperature as the incubator is progressively weaned confirms thermoregulatory maturity, which is the primary readiness criterion.