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ECCO Final Exam 2025, critical care nursing, ECCO questions and answers, intensive care exam, clinical decision-making, verified ECCO answers, nursing exam prep
What conditions warrant for an external pacemaker? - ANSWER-Symptomatic bradycardia, 3rd degree heart block, recurrent tachy-brady syndromes,
Can we use atropine for a 3rd degree heart block? - ANSWER- No.
What are the signs and symptoms of cardiac tamponade? - ANSWER-Narrow pulse pressure, pulses paradox (BP drops 15 mg when pt takes breath in), increased JVD, low BP, muffled heart tones (late sign), HR initially will speed up (won't be bradycardic)
What is cardiac tamponade? - ANSWER-compression of the heart by an accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac which over time decreases the cardiac output b/c the heart can't squeeze 1 / 3
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Why do we care about frequent PVCs? - ANSWER-Because of the R on T phenomenon. When a PVC lands on a T wave, it can potentially put a patient into v-tach
What do we check for when we notice more frequent PVCs? - ANSWER-Magnesium and potassium (more so magnesium)
When starting to pace a patient, what should you do? - ANSWER-Set pacer at 80 and 80 and increase the mA (miliamps) until you see pacer spikes on every single QRS
Question 34 on exam, what V-fib energy settings do you put in for a biphasic defib? - ANSWER-150 jules
What is the normal drainage amount per hour from a chest tube?
- ANSWER-less than 100 ml/hr
For end-stage cardiomyopathy, the drugs of choice are... - ANSWER-1. Nipride - to help reduce preload and afterload
- Dobutamine - to help increase contractility and decrease
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What should you look out for with a patient on Nipride? - ANSWER-1. Watch for a sudden decrease in blood pressure
- Be sure to protect it from light
- Look at the expiration date on the bag.
Which side should you turn a patient to provide better cardiac perfusion? - ANSWER-Left side
In ventricular pacing, what does the waveform look like? - ANSWER-Ventricular pacing spikes followed by wide, bizarre QRS complexes.
Failure to pace - what it is and it's solution - ANSWER-The pace maker fails to initiate an electrical stimulus when the pacemaker is due to fire. This is noted by the absence of a pacer spike on the rhythm strip.-No pacing spikes present at all -Look for broken wire/lead/unit, or dead battery
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