Question

The nurse is caring for a client who had undergone hemodilution during surgery. Immediately after surgery, the nurse expects to see which lab result?

a) Elevated erythrocyte concentration
b) Elevated creatinine
c) Critically low arterial oxygen saturation
d) Decreased hematocrit

Answer 1

After hemodilution during surgery, a nurse would expect to see a decreased hematocrit in the lab results, due to the dilution of erythrocytes in the increased blood volume.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse caring for a client who had undergone hemodilution during surgery would expect to see a decreased hematocrit in the lab results immediately after the procedure. Hemodilution is a process that involves the dilution of blood with intravenous solutions, which results in a reduced concentration of red blood cells (RBCs) and consequently, a lower hematocrit level. This is because the overall volume of blood increases, but the number of erythrocytes remains the same, thus lowering their concentration relative to the increased volume of blood.