Bleeding for Certified Emergency Nursing (CEN)

Which diagnostic test would the nurse anticipate for a patient with lower gastrointestinal bleeding?

A patient is admitted to the ED after a high-speed, head-on automobile accident. He is conscious and alert; his skin is cool and dry. Vital signs are: BP 110/70 mmHg, pulse rate 100 beats/minute, and respirations 24 breaths/minute. The on-scene paramedic reports severe front-end damage to the car and a broken steering wheel. After assessing the patient’s airway, breathing, and circulation, the nurse’s primary concern would be to:

An elderly man is brought to the ED by his daughter after an episode of rectal bleeding. After initial treatment in the ED, the patient will probably be:

The most common causes of upper GI bleeding include:

The patient’s abdominal X-ray reveals a fusiform infrarenal non-dissecting aortic aneurysm. Which nursing diagnosis would be the highest priority for this patient?

A 61-year-old man is transferred to the ED by ambulance from his physician’s office with a diagnosis of a possible abdominal aortic aneurysm. When eliciting the patient’s history, the nurse keeps in mind that one of the most common factors predisposing a patient to abdominal aortic aneurysm is:

In assessing the patient’s health status, the nurse should know that hematemesis is most commonly caused by:

Results of a diagnostic peritoneal lavage may be falsely negative in a patient with a:

Lower GI bleeding is characterized by bleeding from:

The nurse knows that such abdominal emergencies as obstruction, perforation, and acute intractable hemorrhage are typically treated by: