What is a common cause of hypokalemia?
Explanation
Identifying potential causes of electrolyte imbalances is essential for prevention and treatment. Gastrointestinal losses are a frequent and important cause of hypokalemia.
Other questions
Which two main areas of the body contain body fluids?
What is the most abundant intracellular electrolyte?
Which pressure, created by plasma proteins such as albumin, acts as a pulling force to keep fluids inside blood vessels?
The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is a key compensatory mechanism. What is the ultimate goal of this system's activation?
What is the minimum hourly urine output required to maintain overall homeostasis in a healthy adult?
A patient with a fluid deficit is being treated with intravenous fluids. Which sign would indicate that the patient's hypovolemia has been corrected?
Which type of intravenous (IV) fluid contains fewer dissolved solutes than blood and causes fluid to move into cells?
A patient is admitted with congestive heart failure and has jugular venous distension (JVD), crackles in the lungs, and pitting edema. These clinical manifestations are consistent with which fluid imbalance?
A nurse is reviewing an ECG for a patient with a suspected potassium imbalance. Which finding would be consistent with hyperkalemia?
When administering intravenous potassium, what is a critical safety concern the nurse must adhere to?
What is a primary cause of hypernatremia?
A patient is being treated for hyponatremia with IV fluids. The nurse knows that correcting the sodium level too quickly can lead to what severe neurologic complication?
An involuntary twitching of facial muscles when the facial nerve is tapped is a classic sign of hypocalcemia. What is this sign called?
What is the primary nursing intervention for a patient with hypocalcemia to prevent injury?
A patient with chronic alcohol use disorder is at risk for which electrolyte imbalance?
Chloride has a direct relationship with which other electrolyte, meaning that if one is low, the other is likely low as well?
What is the normal range for blood pH?
Using the ROME acronym for ABG interpretation, what does the 'M E' stand for?
A patient with prolonged vomiting is at risk for which acid-base imbalance?
What is the primary cause of respiratory acidosis?
Which organ system is primarily responsible for metabolic compensation in cases of respiratory acidosis?
A patient with diabetic ketoacidosis is experiencing rapid breathing. The nurse recognizes this as a compensatory mechanism for which acid-base imbalance?
What is the normal range for serum sodium levels in the blood?
What is the term for a life-threatening condition where the heart cannot get enough blood and oxygen to tissues due to a severe intravascular fluid deficit?
Which clinical manifestation would a nurse expect to find in a patient with hypervolemia but not in a patient with hypovolemia?
A patient with a serum sodium level of 125 mEq/L is experiencing confusion and abdominal cramps. This condition is known as:
What is the primary risk associated with prolonged immobilization for a patient's calcium balance?
A patient is receiving a loop diuretic like furosemide. The nurse should closely monitor for which two potential electrolyte imbalances?
Which acid-base imbalance is caused by hyperventilation?
What is the primary role of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) in maintaining fluid balance?
A patient with a serum potassium level of 6.2 mEq/L is diagnosed with hyperkalemia. Which treatment might the nurse anticipate to promote cellular uptake of potassium?
An elderly patient with renal failure is at high risk for which electrolyte imbalance if they overuse magnesium-containing antacids?
A patient with a serum phosphorus level of 2.0 mg/dL is diagnosed with hypophosphatemia. This condition has an inverse relationship with which other electrolyte?
An ABG result shows a pH of 7.50, a PaCO2 of 30 mm Hg, and an HCO3- of 24 mEq/L. How should the nurse interpret this?
A patient is admitted for severe hemorrhage. Which type of IV fluid would the nurse anticipate being ordered for initial fluid resuscitation?
Which of the following is considered a subtype of extracellular fluid (ECF)?
The feeling of thirst in a patient with hypernatremia is an example of what type of clinical manifestation?
What is the primary danger of administering IV potassium too rapidly?
A patient with a serum sodium level of 150 mEq/L would be diagnosed with what condition?
Which nursing intervention is crucial when caring for a patient with severe hypocalcemia?
A patient with a serum magnesium level of 1.2 mEq/L is at risk for what complication?
What is the normal range for PaCO2 (partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide) in an arterial blood gas sample?
In a patient with respiratory alkalosis, what is the expected direction of change for pH and PaCO2?
Which of the following conditions is a common cause of hyperphosphatemia?
A patient has a serum calcium level of 7.9 mg/dL. This finding is defined as:
What is the primary function of natriuretic peptides (NPs) in the body's homeostatic mechanisms?
When administering hypertonic IV fluids, what is a primary nursing consideration?
A patient with a serum potassium of 3.1 mEq/L is at risk for all of the following clinical manifestations EXCEPT:
In a state of metabolic acidosis, how do the kidneys attempt to compensate?