Critical Care HESI Practice Final Exam 2025 | Fully
Graded A (Version 2)
Question 1
A client reports left-sided chest pain after playing racquetball. The client is
hospitalized and diagnosed with left pneumothorax. When assessing the
client's left chest area, the nurse expects to identify which finding?
A) Dull sound on percussion
B) Vocal fremitus on palpation
C) Rales with rhonchi on auscultation
D) Absence of breath sounds on auscultation
Question 2
A client is admitted to the hospital with partial- and full-thickness burns of
the chest and face sustained while trying to extinguish a brush fire. Which is
the nurse's priority concern?
A) Loss of skin integrity caused by the burns
B) Potential infection as a result of the burn injury
C) Inadequate gas exchange caused by smoke inhalation
D) Decreased fluid volume because of the depth of the burns
Question 3
During the first 48 hours after a client has sustained a thermal injury, which
conditions should the nurse assess for?
,A) Hypokalemia and hyponatremia
B) Hyperkalemia and hyponatremia
C) Hypokalemia and hypernatremia
D) Hyperkalemia and hypernatremia
Question 4
A nurse is assessing a client's ECG reading. The client's atrial and ventricular
heart rates are equal at 88 beats per minute. The PR interval is 0.14
seconds, and the QRS width is 0.10 seconds. Rhythm is regular with normal
P waves and QRS complexes. How will the nurse interpret this rhythm?
A) Normal sinus rhythm
B) Sinus tachycardia
C) Sinus bradycardia
D) Sinus arrhythmia
Question 5
The nurse is caring for a client with a diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis.
Which is the priority concern of the nurse when caring for this client?
A) Fluid volume
B) Skin integrity
C) Physical mobility
D) Urinary elimination
Question 6
A client who had extensive pelvic surgery 24 hours ago becomes cyanotic,
, is gasping for breath, and reports right-sided chest pain. What should the
nurse do first?
A) Obtain vital signs
B) Initiate a cardiac arrest code
C) Administer oxygen using a face mask
D) Encourage the use of an incentive spirometer
Question 7
A nurse is caring for a client with severe burns. The nurse determines that
this client is at risk for hypovolemic shock. Which physiologic finding
supports the nurse's conclusion?
A) Decreased rate of glomerular filtration
B) Excessive blood loss through the burned tissues
C) Plasma proteins moving out of the intravascular compartment
D) Sodium retention occurring as a result of the aldosterone mechanism
Question 8
The nurse is caring for a client with burns and reviews the client's laboratory
results: blood urea nitrogen (BUN) 30 mg/dL; creatinine 2.4 mg/dL; serum
potassium 6.3 mEq/L; pH 7.1; PO2 90 mm Hg; and hemoglobin 7.4 g/dL.
Which condition does the nurse suspect the client has based upon these
findings?
A) Azotemia
B) Fluid volume excess
Graded A (Version 2)
Question 1
A client reports left-sided chest pain after playing racquetball. The client is
hospitalized and diagnosed with left pneumothorax. When assessing the
client's left chest area, the nurse expects to identify which finding?
A) Dull sound on percussion
B) Vocal fremitus on palpation
C) Rales with rhonchi on auscultation
D) Absence of breath sounds on auscultation
Question 2
A client is admitted to the hospital with partial- and full-thickness burns of
the chest and face sustained while trying to extinguish a brush fire. Which is
the nurse's priority concern?
A) Loss of skin integrity caused by the burns
B) Potential infection as a result of the burn injury
C) Inadequate gas exchange caused by smoke inhalation
D) Decreased fluid volume because of the depth of the burns
Question 3
During the first 48 hours after a client has sustained a thermal injury, which
conditions should the nurse assess for?
,A) Hypokalemia and hyponatremia
B) Hyperkalemia and hyponatremia
C) Hypokalemia and hypernatremia
D) Hyperkalemia and hypernatremia
Question 4
A nurse is assessing a client's ECG reading. The client's atrial and ventricular
heart rates are equal at 88 beats per minute. The PR interval is 0.14
seconds, and the QRS width is 0.10 seconds. Rhythm is regular with normal
P waves and QRS complexes. How will the nurse interpret this rhythm?
A) Normal sinus rhythm
B) Sinus tachycardia
C) Sinus bradycardia
D) Sinus arrhythmia
Question 5
The nurse is caring for a client with a diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis.
Which is the priority concern of the nurse when caring for this client?
A) Fluid volume
B) Skin integrity
C) Physical mobility
D) Urinary elimination
Question 6
A client who had extensive pelvic surgery 24 hours ago becomes cyanotic,
, is gasping for breath, and reports right-sided chest pain. What should the
nurse do first?
A) Obtain vital signs
B) Initiate a cardiac arrest code
C) Administer oxygen using a face mask
D) Encourage the use of an incentive spirometer
Question 7
A nurse is caring for a client with severe burns. The nurse determines that
this client is at risk for hypovolemic shock. Which physiologic finding
supports the nurse's conclusion?
A) Decreased rate of glomerular filtration
B) Excessive blood loss through the burned tissues
C) Plasma proteins moving out of the intravascular compartment
D) Sodium retention occurring as a result of the aldosterone mechanism
Question 8
The nurse is caring for a client with burns and reviews the client's laboratory
results: blood urea nitrogen (BUN) 30 mg/dL; creatinine 2.4 mg/dL; serum
potassium 6.3 mEq/L; pH 7.1; PO2 90 mm Hg; and hemoglobin 7.4 g/dL.
Which condition does the nurse suspect the client has based upon these
findings?
A) Azotemia
B) Fluid volume excess
