A patient who has been prescribed rabeprazole (Aciphex) develops black, tarry stools. What is the nurse's best first action?
a. Check the patient's medication list for prescribed iron supplements.
b. Teach the patient that this is an expected side effect of proton pump inhibitors.
c. Send a stool sample to the lab for analysis.
d. Notify the prescriber immediately.
D
Black and tarry stools are never normal; they indicate bleeding and should be reported to the prescriber at once. Sending a stool sample to the laboratory to test for blood helps to confirm the presence of blood in the stool, but an order from the prescriber is needed to perform this action.
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Mr. David, an 83-year-old man, is admitted to your unit after an emergency cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) under general anesthesia. It has been 12 hours since surgery, and although arousable, Mr. David is still very groggy and sedated
His family is concerned and thinks there is something wrong. As the LPN in charge, you a. Call the physician immediately; the family is right, he should not be groggy 12 hours after surgery b. Decide you will refuse to medicate him for pain if he asks because he is still heavily sedated c. Increase his IV rate d. Explain to the family that because of normal age-related changes, it takes longer for the effects of anesthesia to wear off
A pregnant woman presenting with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) will have changes in the
A) lymphatic system. B) fibrinolytic system. C) liver function. D) spleen, affecting coagulation.
The nurse is developing a weight loss plan for a 21 year old patient who is morbidly obese. Which statement by the nurse is most likely to help the patient in loosing weight on the planned 1000 calorie diet:
a) Most of the weight that you lose during the first weeks of dieting is water weight rather than fat b) You are likely to start to notice changes in how you feel with just a few weeks of diet and exercise
Conditions that have the potential to cause the patient's health to worsen are
A. risk factors. B. exacerbations. C. etiologies. D. acute imbalances.