Question

An 18-year-old client is admitted with a closed head injury sustained in a MVA. His intracranial pressure (ICP) shows an upward trend. Which intervention should the nurse perform first?

A. Reposition the client to avoid neck flexion.
B. Administer 1 g Mannitol IV as ordered.
C. Increase the ventilator's respiratory rate to 20 breaths/minute.
D. Administer 100 mg of pentobarbital IV as ordered.

Answer 1

The force exerted on each side of an infant's skull due to abnormal cerebrospinal fluid pressure is calculated using the product of pressure and area. The net force on the skull is zero if the forces are balanced.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question involves calculating the force exerted by cerebrospinal fluid on an infant's skull due to elevated gauge pressure and the consequent net force acting on the skull. This is a typical physics problem that applies principles of pressure and force.

Part (a

To calculate the outward force in newtons, we need to use the formula: Force (F) = Pressure (P) × Area (A). First, we convert the gauge pressure from mm Hg to pascals (since 1.0 mm Hg = 133 Pa). We then multiply this pressure by the effective area in squared meters. If the gauge pressure is 85.0 mm Hg and the effective area is 70.0 cm² (which is 0.0070 m²), the force on each side of the skull can be calculated.

Part (b)

The net force acting on the skull would be zero if equal force is applied uniformly from all sides, since the forces would balance each other out.