The nurse notices ventricular tachycardia on the

20.
The nurse notices ventricular tachycardia on the heart monitor. When the patient is assessed,
the patient is found to be unresponsive with no pulse. The nurse should
a. treat with intravenous amiodarone or lidocaine.
b. begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation and advanced life support.
c. provide electrical cardioversion.
d. ignore the rhythm because it is benign.
ANS: B
NURSINGTB.COM
INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL CARE NURSING 7TH EDITION SOLE TEST BANK

NURSINGTB.COM
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a rapid, life-threatening dysrhythmia originating from a single
ectopic focus in the ventricles. Determine whether the patient has a pulse. If no pulse is
present, provide emergent basic and advanced life-support interventions, including
defibrillation. If a pulse is present and the blood pressure is stable, the patient can be treated
with intravenous amiodarone or lidocaine. Cardioversion is used as an emergency measure in
patients who become hemodynamically unstable but continue to have a pulse. It also may be
used in nonemergency situations, such as when a patient has asymptomatic VT.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Apply/Application REF: p. 119
OBJ: Describe appropriate interventions for common dysrhythmias.
TOP: Nursing Process Step: Implementation
MSC: NCLEX Client Needs Category: Physiological Integrity
21.
The nurse is talking with the patient when the monitor alarms and shows a wavy baseline
without a PQRST complex. The nurse should
DIF: Cognitive Level: Apply/Application REF: pp. 119-120
OBJ: Describe appropriate interventions for common dysrhythmias.
TOP: Nursing Process Step: Implementation | Nursing Process Step: Assessment
MSC: NCLEX Client Needs Category: Physiological Integrity