Question

The nurse in the previous question (A patient who just came out of general anesthesia has lab work done. The serum osmo is 165. The nurse taking care of this patient suspects that the _____ is due to _________.) would expect all the following S S EXCEPT:

1) signs of cerebral edema such as irritability.
2) signs of cerebral cell dehydration such as headache.
3) pitting edema
4) crackles in the lungs upon auscultation.

Answer 1

The nurse would expect signs of cerebral edema, pitting edema, and possibly pulmonary edema due to low serum osmolarity or hypo-osmolarity, but not signs of cerebral cell dehydration such as headache, which are associated with high serum osmolarity or hyperosmolarity.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a patient has a serum osmolarity of 165, this indicates a low serum osmolarity condition, or hypo-osmolarity, which can lead to cell swelling as water moves into cells to equalize osmotic pressure. The nurse suspects that the low serum osmolarity is due to the patient's recent emergence from general anesthesia and associated physiological responses or potential intravenous fluids received during surgery. In this case, the nurse would expect all the following signs and symptoms except signs of cerebral cell dehydration such as a headache. This is because dehydration would be associated with hyperosmolarity (increased serum osmolarity), not hypo-osmolarity.

Given the low serum osmolarity, the nurse would anticipate:

• Signs of cerebral edema such as irritability.
• Pitting edema, due to fluid accumulation in the interstitial space.
• Crackles in the lungs upon auscultation, potentially indicating pulmonary edema.

However, signs of cerebral cell dehydration like a headache would not be expected, since hypo-osmolarity tends to cause cells to swell rather than shrink.