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19 multiple-choice questions and 5 flashcards on Pharmacological Therapies, about 12% of the NCLEX-PN bank. Every one carries a written rationale.
Pharmacological Therapies is one of 8 chapters in CoStudy's NCLEX-PN bank, and it holds 19 of the bank's 162 multiple-choice questions — roughly 12% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.
Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.
9 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.
A patient is to receive 1,000 mL of 0.9% NaCl over 8 hours. The infusion pump should be set at:
Answer: C — 125 mL/hr
1,000 / 8 = 125 mL/hr. A,B) Too slow. C) Correct. D) Too fast.
A patient on warfarin asks about diet. The LPN should reinforce:
Answer: D — Keep vitamin K intake consistent from day to day
A) Unrealistic and unnecessary. D) Correct — consistency, not avoidance, stabilizes INR. C) Sudden increase lowers INR. B) Alcohol increases bleeding risk.
Digoxin toxicity is suggested by:
Answer: D — Visual halos, nausea, bradycardia
A) Toxicity decreases appetite. D) Correct — yellow-green halos, anorexia, nausea, bradycardia are classic signs. Check level (therapeutic 0.5-2 ng/mL). C) Not characteristic. B) Not specific.
A subcutaneous injection should be given at which angle for an average-build adult?
Answer: B — 45 to 90 degrees depending on needle length and tissue
A) Intradermal angle. B) Correct — short needle 90 degrees, longer needle 45 degrees. C) Wrong needle length. D) Different route.
Which insulin has the FASTEST onset?
Answer: A — Lispro
A) Correct — lispro (rapid-acting) onsets in ~15 minutes. B) Short-acting, onsets in ~30 minutes. C) Intermediate. D) Long-acting, peakless.
A patient asks why insulin cannot be taken orally. The LPN explains:
Answer: B — Gastric acids and digestive enzymes destroy it before absorption
A) Not the reason. B) Correct — insulin is a peptide destroyed by GI digestion; must be parenteral. C) Not the mechanism. D) Not available routinely.
A patient is to receive vancomycin IV piggyback. The LPN should observe for which infusion-related reaction?
Answer: A — Flushing of the face, neck, and upper torso (infusion reaction historically called 'red man')
A) Correct — histamine-mediated reaction with rapid infusion; slow infusion mitigates. B,C,D) Not characteristic.
Before administering digoxin, the LPN should:
Answer: D — Take the apical heart rate for 1 full minute; hold and notify provider if under 60 bpm in an adult
A) Insufficient. D) Correct — apical for 60 seconds, hold for HR <60. C) Skips safety check. B) Not the standard for digoxin.
When mixing NPH and regular insulin in one syringe, the LPN should:
Answer: B — Draw regular (clear) first, then NPH (cloudy)
A) Wrong order risks contamination of regular vial. B) Correct — 'clear before cloudy' to keep the rapid/short-acting vial uncontaminated by NPH. C) Order matters. D) Allowed for some combinations.
4 cards from the 5 in this chapter.
Insulin onset/peak/duration: Regular insulin (rapid-short)?
Onset 30 min, peak 2-4 hr, duration 6-8 hr.
Always check before giving any med:
Allergies, expiration, label x3, correct patient (2 identifiers), correct route.
Common warfarin teaching — diet?
Maintain CONSISTENT vitamin K intake (greens). Sudden changes affect INR.
Common digoxin toxicity signs?
Visual changes (halos, yellow vision), anorexia, nausea, bradycardia.
These are a sample. The full Pharmacological Therapies chapter runs 24 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.