Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 78%
Simulated
A nurse is assessing a client who has septic shock and is receiving dopamine by continuous IV infusion. Which of the following findings indicates that the nurse should increase the rate of infusion?
Correct answer
A
Rationale
The correct answer is A: Hypotension. In septic shock, hypotension is a sign of inadequate tissue perfusion and indicates the need to increase the dopamine infusion rate to help improve blood pressure. Extravasation (B) refers to the leakage of IV medication into surrounding tissues and does not directly indicate a need to increase the infusion rate. Headache (C) and chest pain (D) are nonspecific symptoms that do not specifically indicate the need to increase dopamine infusion.