Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse Practice Test 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The priority nursing action for a patient exhibiting signs of anaphylaxis is to administer epinephrine and secure airway patency. Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction that requires immediate intervention. The first-line treatment for anaphylaxis is epinephrine, which acts quickly to relieve symptoms by causing vasoconstriction, bronchodilation, and reducing vascular permeability, counteracting the severe effects of anaphylaxis.

Securing airway patency is equally crucial because swelling in the airways can lead to obstruction, which can be fatal. Administering epinephrine effectively addresses both the allergic reaction and the potential airway compromise, making this combination the most critical intervention in this emergency scenario.

Other choices may include aspects of care that are important but do not address the immediate life-threatening nature of anaphylaxis as effectively. Monitoring vital signs is important, but without the immediate action of administering epinephrine and managing the airway, a patient's condition could deteriorate rapidly. Positioning the patient supine or upright could also be considered dependent on the situation, but without administering epinephrine first, these actions could be insufficient. Finally, while antihistamines have their place in allergic reactions, they do not work quickly enough to manage anaphylaxis