
Electrolyte Imbalance Quiz: Sodium and Potassium
Independent practice, not affiliated with NCSBN.
Fluid balance and cardiac stability depend upon precise serum electrolyte thresholds. Slight deviations in sodium and potassium trigger cellular shifts and life-threatening dysrhythmias.
Recommended next
53 questions ready
Start with a quiz
Answer from memory first, then review the rationales and revisit weak areas from this set.
Activities
Quiz53 Questions
Flashcards148 Cards
Study Notes6 Notes
List of Questions30 questions
- Question 1
- 134 mEq/L
- 140 mEq/L
- 149 mEq/L
- 128 mEq/L
- Question 2
- Bone tissue
- Intracellular fluid
- Extracellular fluid
- Gastrointestinal contents
- Question 3
- They swell as water moves into them
- They rupture because sodium enters the nucleus
- They maintain their volume because sodium cannot affect water movement
- They shrink as water moves out of them
- Question 4
- Excessive water intake
- Rehydration with water and solutes
- Administration of hypotonic IV fluid
- Repeated vomiting with inadequate fluid replacement
- Question 5
- Confusion and irritability
- Only localized numbness of the lips
- Hand spasm after blood pressure cuff inflation
- Absent neurological effects
- Question 6
- Facial twitching when the facial nerve is tapped
- Diarrhea caused by excess potassium
- A slow, weak pulse caused by excess magnesium
- Severe thirst and sticky mucous membranes
- Question 7
- Potassium leaves the kidneys and directly compresses brain tissue
- Sodium moves into brain cells, causing them to shrink
- Water leaves brain cells because extracellular sodium is elevated
- Water moves into brain cells, causing them to swell
- Question 8
- A person reduces oral water intake
- A marathon runner replaces losses only with water
- A person receives a prescribed hypertonic saline solution
- A person has prolonged diarrhea without drinking
- Question 9
- Encouraging unrestricted water intake
- Increasing dietary sodium without assessing the cause
- Limiting water intake or discontinuing hypotonic IV fluids
- Administering potassium by IV push
- Question 10
- Both are treated by increasing free-water intake
- Both cause water to move out of brain cells
- Hypernatremia causes only gastrointestinal symptoms, whereas hyponatremia causes only renal symptoms
- Hypernatremia causes brain-cell shrinkage, whereas hyponatremia can cause brain-cell swelling
- Question 11
- Typical upper-limit value
- Definite hypernatremia
- Definite hyponatremia
- Uninterpretable because sodium is measured in mg/dL
- Question 12
- 4.2 mEq/L
- 5.6 mEq/L
- 3.4 mEq/L
- 2.9 mEq/L
- Question 13
- The interstitial space only
- Extracellular fluid
- Intravascular plasma only
- Intracellular fluid
- Question 14
- Coffee, tea, and carbonated drinks
- Salt substitutes only
- Bananas, oranges, and tomatoes
- Butter, oils, and refined sugar
- Question 15
- Sodium and potassium excretion together
- Sodium and potassium retention without renal effects
- Potassium reabsorption and sodium excretion
- Sodium reabsorption and potassium excretion
- Question 16
- A rise in blood potassium
- A rise in blood sodium
- An increase in dietary potassium absorption without a blood change
- A fall in intracellular potassium only
- Question 17
- Sodium excretion increases while potassium is retained
- Both sodium and potassium are prevented from crossing the renal tubule
- Potassium excretion increases
- Potassium is moved from urine back into blood exclusively
- Question 18
- It moves potassium from extracellular fluid into cells
- It prevents potassium from being absorbed from food
- It moves potassium from cells into extracellular fluid
- It causes potassium to be excreted directly through the lungs
- Question 19
- Potassium is converted into sodium during diuretic therapy
- These drugs prevent all potassium absorption from the intestine
- Potassium is excreted by the kidneys along with water
- These drugs move potassium permanently into bone
- Question 20
- Oral administration
- IV push
- IV infusion mixed with fluids
- Dietary intake
- Question 21
- Give it as an infusion mixed with fluids and follow agency safety protocols
- Avoid monitoring because potassium is rapidly excreted
- Administer it by IV push if the serum level is low
- Administer it rapidly to restore the level immediately
- Question 22
- Potassium balance supports normal cardiac function, and abnormal levels can disrupt rhythms
- Potassium is unrelated to cardiac electrical activity
- Only sodium abnormalities affect cardiac contractility
- Potassium affects skeletal muscle but not cardiac muscle
- Question 23
- Kidney failure
- Increased urinary potassium loss from a loop diuretic
- Excessive water intake alone
- Inadequate dietary potassium intake
- Question 24
- A prescribed hypotonic IV solution
- Potassium-sparing diuretics
- A diet low in potassium
- Potassium-wasting loop diuretics
- Question 25
- Isolated headache after excess water intake
- Facial twitching when the facial nerve is tapped
- Sticky mucous membranes without cardiac findings
- Progression from ECG abnormalities to dysrhythmias
- Question 26
- Headache, brain-cell swelling, and coma after water excess
- Thready pulse, lethargy, and weakness due to potassium depletion
- Cardiac rhythm changes, cramping, diarrhea, and irritability
- Severe thirst, sticky mucous membranes, and cellular dehydration
- Question 27
- To remove potassium through the lungs
- To prevent potassium from entering cells
- To bind potassium in the gastrointestinal tract
- To move potassium into cells and lower serum potassium
- Question 28
- Glucose monitoring replaces cardiac monitoring during hyperkalemia
- Insulin can cause low blood glucose, so supplemental dextrose may be needed
- Insulin permanently raises blood glucose, so dextrose reverses hyperglycemia
- Blood glucose determines whether potassium can bind in the GI tract
- Question 29
- It shifts all potassium into the gastrointestinal tract
- It replaces the need for treatment that lowers potassium
- It permanently removes potassium through the kidneys
- It temporarily protects cardiac muscle from potassium's effects
- Question 30
- It moves potassium into cells through an insulin-like action
- It prevents sodium from being reabsorbed in the distal tubule
- It protects cardiac muscle without changing potassium handling
- It binds excess potassium so it can be excreted through the GI tract
List of Flashcards148 flashcards
Flashcards will appear here once they are ready.