Brain death is the irreversible loss of all brain function, including the brainstem.
Correct Answer
True
True. Brain death is the irreversible loss of all functions of the brain, including the brainstem, and it is the point at which families may face decisions about life support and possible organ and tissue donation.
Category: ICU Care and Ethics
Question 2
Central venous pressure closely reflects right atrial pressure and is used as a measure of right-sided filling.
Correct Answer
True
True. The central venous pressure is measured in the large vein that empties into the right atrium, so it approximates right atrial pressure, and the two terms are often used interchangeably.
Category: Hemodynamic Monitoring
Question 3
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation oxygenates and warms the blood outside the body, which gives the lungs, and in some setups the heart, time to rest.
Correct Answer
True
True. Blood is drawn from the body, oxygenated and warmed by the machine and returned. In the venovenous setup used for respiratory failure, the blood goes back into a vein, so only the lungs rest; when the circuit returns blood to an artery, it also does the work of the heart and rests it as well.
Category: Hemodynamic Monitoring
Question 4
Sepsis can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome even when the lungs are not the original site of infection.
Correct Answer
True
True. Sepsis is an indirect cause: widespread inflammation injures the lungs from outside, while direct causes such as aspiration or pneumonia injure the lungs themselves.
Category: Respiratory and Ventilator Care
Question 5
A hoarse voice or falling oxygen saturation during nasogastric tube insertion suggests the tube may have entered the airway.
Correct Answer
True
True. These findings mean the tube may be in the larynx or trachea, so it is removed immediately.
Category: GI and Renal Concerns
Question 6
On the Braden Scale, a lower score means a higher risk of pressure injury.
Correct Answer
True
True. The scale rates factors such as sensory perception, moisture, mobility and nutrition, and a lower total score indicates greater risk of skin breakdown.
Category: Skin and Mobility
Question 7
Some critically ill patients walk in the hallway while still connected to life-support equipment.
Correct Answer
True
True. With early mobility protocols, a stable patient may walk while connected to equipment such as a ventilator, with nurses and therapists managing the devices.
Category: Skin and Mobility
Question 8
Decerebrate posturing indicates a more severe brain injury than decorticate posturing.
Correct Answer
True
True. Decerebrate posturing, with rigid extension of the limbs, reflects deeper injury involving the brainstem, while decorticate posturing, with the arms flexed toward the chest, reflects injury higher in the brain.
Category: Neurological Care
Question 9
Bleeding in the GI tract can raise the blood urea nitrogen level even when the kidneys are healthy.
Correct Answer
True
True. Digested blood adds protein to the gut, and its breakdown raises the blood urea nitrogen, so this value alone is not a reliable sign of kidney injury.
Category: GI and Renal Concerns
Question 10
Patients receiving mechanical ventilation commonly receive daily medications to prevent stress ulcers and deep vein thrombosis.
Correct Answer
True
True. Ventilated patients are at risk for both, so prophylaxis against stress ulcers and against deep vein thrombosis is part of routine care.
Category: Respiratory and Ventilator Care
Question 11
Hypoxemic respiratory failure is defined by the failure of the lungs to remove carbon dioxide.
Correct Answer
False
False. Failure to remove carbon dioxide defines hypercapnic respiratory failure; hypoxemic respiratory failure is a failure to supply enough oxygen for the body's needs.
Category: Respiratory and Ventilator Care
Question 12
Transcutaneous pacing is a permanent treatment for symptomatic bradycardia.
Correct Answer
False
False. Pacing through pads on the chest is temporary, and many patients go on to receive a permanent pacemaker.
Category: Hemodynamic Monitoring
Question 13
Turning a ventilated patient to the prone position can be done safely by a single nurse.
Correct Answer
False
False. Proning a patient connected to a ventilator and other devices requires several staff members to protect the airway, lines and tubes.
Category: Respiratory and Ventilator Care
Question 14
Most ICU medications are given by mouth because oral drugs act faster than IV drugs.
Correct Answer
False
False. Most ICU medications are given IV, which produces a faster physiologic effect and allows close titration.
Category: ICU Care and Ethics
Question 15
Acute kidney injury caused by blocked urine outflow, such as from an enlarged prostate, is classified as intrarenal.
Correct Answer
False
False. Blocked outflow causes postrenal injury; intrarenal injury results from direct damage to kidney tissue, as from nephrotoxic drugs or prolonged ischemia.
Category: GI and Renal Concerns
Question 16
Diuretics pose no risk to the kidneys, so they can be given freely in acute kidney injury.
Correct Answer
False
False. Diuretics are themselves somewhat nephrotoxic, so they are used cautiously and at the lowest effective dose.
Category: GI and Renal Concerns
Question 17
Pressure injuries are less common in critical care units than on other inpatient units.
Correct Answer
False
False. Hospital-acquired pressure injury rates are typically highest in critical care, because of immobility, unstable circulation, devices, incontinence and vasoactive drugs.
Category: Skin and Mobility
Question 18
A patient with acute GI bleeding may keep eating and taking oral medications while the bleeding is treated.
Correct Answer
False
False. The patient is kept NPO, with nothing by mouth, so the GI tract can rest, and medications are given IV.
Category: GI and Renal Concerns
Question 19
Muscle atrophy from a long ICU stay usually resolves by discharge without lasting effects.
Correct Answer
False
False. Many survivors of critical illness have lasting physical limitations from atrophy and contractures, which is why early mobility and therapy matter.
Category: Skin and Mobility
Question 20
Sedation raises intracranial pressure by increasing the brain's metabolic demand.
Correct Answer
False
False. Sedation lowers intracranial pressure by reducing pain, agitation and movement, which decreases the brain's metabolic demand.
Category: Neurological Care