The aPTT of a patient who is prescribed continuous intravenous (IV) heparin is two times the control value. What is the nurse's best action?
a. Increase the IV rate as ordered.
b. Decrease the IV rate as ordered.
c. Leave the rate unchanged.
d. Stop the infusion and notify the prescriber.
C
The goal of continuous heparin therapy is to keep the aPTT within a therapeutic range of 1.5 to 2.5 times greater than the laboratory-established control value. Two times the control value is within this range. The prescriber should be notified, but the infusion rate, which is therapeutic, will not change at this time.
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