Progressive Care Nursing Certification (PCCN) Practice Exam

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $2.99 payment

Prepare for the PCCN exam with quizzes. Test yourself with flashcards and multiple-choice questions including explanations. Get ready to excel!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.


What is the best response for a patient reporting headache, nausea, and vomiting immediately post-hemodialysis?

  1. Your symptoms are due to the removal of urea during treatment

  2. I will report this for future treatment adjustments

  3. Have any of your visitors been exposed to the flu?

  4. Your treatment may be done less frequently due to side effects

The correct answer is: Your symptoms are due to the removal of urea during treatment

The best response for a patient reporting headache, nausea, and vomiting immediately after hemodialysis is that the symptoms are likely due to the removal of urea during the treatment. This is rooted in the physiological changes that occur during hemodialysis. As waste products like urea are effectively removed from the bloodstream, patients can experience a phenomenon known as "dialysis disequilibrium syndrome." This occurs predominantly in patients with higher levels of urea or other toxins in the blood prior to dialysis. Symptoms such as headache, nausea, and vomiting immediately following dialysis can reflect the body's adjustment to the sudden change in solute concentration as waste products are cleared. Hence, acknowledging that these symptoms may be linked to the removal of urea helps the patient understand the relationship between their treatment and their condition, validating their experience and providing reassurance. In contrast, while reporting the symptoms for future treatment adjustments is important, doing so without initially addressing the immediate cause of the patient's discomfort may leave the patient feeling uninformed. Asking about exposure to the flu may not be relevant in the immediate context of their symptoms, as these are more directly related to the effects of dialysis. The option about decreasing treatment frequency due to side effects may mislead the patient into thinking that their current