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Uterine Tetany and Oxytocin — NCLEX Cheat Sheet

Stop the Pitocin first
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👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team 🕐 Updated 2026-08-31 🏷️ Pharmacological Therapies 🔖 Free to read, print, and share
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent Uterine Tetany and Oxytocin on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!

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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet

📌 What Counts As Tetany

  • Contractions longer than 90 seconds
  • Closer together than every 2 minutes
  • No full relaxation between them

✅ What To Do — In Order

  • STOP the oxytocin
  • Turn to the LEFT side
  • Increase the plain IV fluid
  • Oxygen by mask 8-10 L
  • Notify the provider

✅ Timing A Contraction

  • Frequency: start of one to the start of the next
  • Duration: start to end of one
  • Intensity: palpated at the fundus

🩺 Watch For

  • Uterine rupture — pain then contractions STOP
  • Water intoxication on long infusions
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Quick Tip

Focus on the highlighted numbers and the red-flag items — those are what the NCLEX tests most on uterine tetany and oxytocin.

📖 Related Topics

Digoxin ToxicityHeparin TherapyWarfarin TherapyAcetaminophen Poisoning in Children
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