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Title: While caring for the patient with spinal cord injury (SCI), the nurse elevates t Post by: colleen on Mar 11, 2013 While caring for the patient with spinal cord injury (SCI), the nurse elevates the head of the bed, removes compression stockings, and continues to assess vital signs every two to three minutes while searching for the cause in order to prevent loss of consciousness or death. By practicing these interventions, the nurse is avoiding the most dangerous complication of autonomic dysreflexia, which is which of the following?
1. hypoxia 2. bradycardia 3. elevated blood pressure 4. tachycardia Title: Re: While caring for the patient with spinal cord injury (SCI), the nurse elevates t Post by: robertling on Mar 11, 2013 3 -- Autonomic dysreflexia is an emergency that requires immediate assessment and intervention to prevent complications of extremely high blood pressure. Additional nursing assistance will be needed and a colleague needs to reach the physician stat.
Title: Re: While caring for the patient with spinal cord injury (SCI), the nurse elevates t Post by: Kassie on Mar 11, 2013 3. elevated blood pressure
This is the main complication of autonomic dysreflexia. Blood pressure will be raised as a body defense to maintain homeostasis if the disease is not properly handled, so you must often assess the vital signs to ensure the pts status is ok. You elevate the head of the bed to promote better circulation ( instantly can lower blood pressure) and remove any compression because when B/P is up, heart rate is down. |