Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse Practice Exam

Monitoring for bradypnea after a brain stem infarction is crucial because the brain stem plays a vital role in controlling respiratory function. The brain stem houses important centers that regulate breathing, including the medulla and pons. An infarction in this area can disrupt normal respiratory patterns, leading to conditions like bradypnea (abnormally slow breathing). While aphasia, contralateral hemiplegia, and numbness and tingling in the face or arm are potential concerns stemming from strokes or neurological issues, they are more associated with dysfunctions in other regions of the brain. Aphasia generally arises from damage to the language centers in the left hemisphere, contralateral hemiplegia occurs due to motor pathway disruption in the motor cortex or the pathways leading to it, and numbness and tingling may point to issues in sensory pathways that are not primarily governed by the brain stem. Thus, for a brain stem infarction, bradypnea is a particularly important condition to monitor.