NCLEX reduction of risk potential practice questions
- questions
- 130 questions
- of the exam
- 9–15% of the exam
- test-plan category
- Reduction of risk potential test-plan category
- last updated
- August 2026 last updated
Reduction of risk potential is the lab-value and post-procedure category: you are given a number or a change and asked whether it is expected. The 130 questions below lean on the values the exam actually repeats — potassium, sodium, INR, creatinine, hemoglobin A1C — rather than a memorization sheet. Five are free below.
Written and reviewed by Dana Whitfield, RN, MSN · Updated August 2026
Reduction of risk potential
5 free reduction of risk potential questions
Playable here, no account. Rationales expand in place.
Reduction of risk potential · free set
1 of 5Four hours after a cardiac catheterization via the right femoral artery, the nurse notes the client's right dorsalis pedis pulse is now faint and the foot is cool and pale. What is the nurse's priority action?
Rationale
A pulse that was present and is now faint, with a cool, pale extremity distal to the puncture site, is arterial occlusion until proven otherwise — a limb-threatening complication that needs the provider now. Documenting and rechecking wastes the window, warming treats the symptom and masks the change, and asking the client to move the ankle neither restores flow nor gives you new information.
Answer: C
A client with heart failure is started on furosemide 40 mg PO daily. Which findings should the nurse report to the provider before administering the next dose? Select all that apply.
Rationale
Furosemide is a loop diuretic, so the two things you are watching are potassium and kidney function. A potassium of 2.9 mEq/L is below the 3.5–5.0 reference range and puts the client at risk for dysrhythmia — hold and report. Muscle cramps with palpitations are the clinical face of that same hypokalemia, so they are reported together, not separately. A creatinine that doubles signals the diuresis has outrun renal perfusion. A blood pressure of 132/78 and a 1 kg loss are the expected response to the drug working, not reasons to hold it.
Answer: A, D, E
A client is admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis. Which findings does the nurse expect? Select all that apply.
Rationale
DKA is hyperglycemia plus ketosis plus metabolic acidosis, and four of these are that picture: Kussmaul respirations blowing off CO₂, ketones on the breath, a glucose well above 250 mg/dL, and dehydration showing as warm, flushed, dry skin. A bicarbonate of 30 mEq/L is above the reference range — in DKA bicarbonate is consumed and falls below 18. On a select-all, check each option against the pathophysiology on its own; there is no partial credit on the real exam.
Answer: A, B, D, E
A client with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has an oxygen saturation of 88% on 2 L/min via nasal cannula and is alert with no distress. What should the nurse do first?
Rationale
In COPD a saturation of 88–92% is the therapeutic target, not an emergency, and this client is alert with no distress. The first action is the independent nursing intervention that is least invasive and most likely to help: sit them up and reassess. Turning the oxygen up to 6 L/min risks blunting the hypoxic drive, and calling rapid response or drawing an ABG escalates ahead of an assessment you have not finished.
Answer: B
The provider prescribes heparin 25,000 units in 250 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride to infuse at 1,000 units/hour. At what rate in mL/hour should the nurse set the pump?
Rationale
Find the concentration first: 25,000 units ÷ 250 mL = 100 units/mL. Then divide the ordered dose by that concentration: 1,000 units/hour ÷ 100 units/mL = 10 mL/hour. Dosage items almost always reduce to two steps like this, and the distractors are the answers you get from a single misplaced decimal — which is exactly what the item is testing.
Answer: B
Breakdown
What is tested in reduction of risk potential
How the questions in this set are distributed, so you can see what you are buying before you buy it.
| Subtopic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Laboratory values | 36 |
| Diagnostic tests and procedures | 30 |
| Post-operative complications | 28 |
| Therapeutic procedures | 20 |
| Vital sign changes | 16 |
Related question sets
Drill all 130 reduction of risk potential questions.
Start on the free tier: 50 questions across every category, full rationales, no card.
Cancel anytime · 14-day refund