Nursing Prioritization Delegation Assignment Q 10
Prior to oral defense, a 21-year-old nursing student goes straight to the clinic due to tingling sensations, palpitations, and chest tightness. Deep, rapid breathing and carpal spasms are also observed. What is the nursing priority action for this situation?
A. Give supplemental oxygen
B. Allow the student to breathe into a paper bag
C. Report to the physician immediately
D. Get an order for an anxiolytic medication
Correct Answer: B. Allow the student to breathe into a paper bag
The student is hyperventilating secondary to anxiety, and breathing into a paper bag will provide rebreathing of carbon dioxide. Encouraging slow breathing will also help. The idea behind breathing into a paper bag or mask is that rebreathing exhaled air helps the body put CO2 back into the blood.
Option A: Acute anxiety may require treatment with a benzodiazepine. Chronic anxiety treatment consists of psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, or a combination of both. Anxiety disorders appear to be caused by an interaction of biopsychosocial factors. Genetic vulnerability interacts with situations that are stressful or traumatic to produce clinically significant syndromes.
Option C: Report it to the physician once there is a recurrence or the breathing did not improve. Anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric disorders but the true prevalence is not known as many people do not seek help or clinicians fail to make the diagnosis. Anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in the general population. Specific phobia is the most common with a 12-month prevalence rate of 12.1%. Social anxiety disorder is the next most common, with a 12-month prevalence rate of 7.4%.
Option D: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, mild tranquilizers, and beta-blockers treat anxiety disorders.