You are frequently assessing an 84-year-old woman's pain after she suffered a humeral fracture in a fall. When applying the nursing process in pain management for a patient of this age, what principle should you best apply?
A) Monitor for signs of drug toxicity due to a decrease in metabolism.
B) Monitor for an increase in absorption of the drug due to age-related changes.
C) Monitor for a paradoxical increase in pain with opioid administration.
D) Administer analgesics every 4 to 6 hours as ordered to control pain.
Ans: A
Feedback:
Older people may respond differently to pain than younger people. Because elderly people have a slower metabolism and a greater ratio of body fat to muscle mass compared with younger people, small doses of analgesic agents may be sufficient to relieve pain, and these doses may be effective longer. This fact also corresponds to an increased risk of adverse effects. Paradoxical effects are not a common phenomenon. Frequency of administration will vary widely according to numerous variables.
You might also like to view...
The theorist Eric Berne theorized that an individual's three ego states of parent, child, and adult make up one's:
a. Conscience b. Personality c. Thought processes d. Ability to communicate
An Alzheimer's patient has been taking a cholinesterase inhibitor for a week. What anticipated side effects (signs and symptoms) related to the medication would the nurse anticipate in the pa-tient?
a. Numbness and tingling in the extremities b. Headache and confusion c. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea d. Tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss
A nurse is administering a scheduled medication to a client using the institution's bar code system. The nurse has scanned the client's armband as well as the scheduled medication
The system has signaled a discrepancy between the dose ordered and the dose scanned. What is the nurse's most appropriate response? A) Administer the dose specified by the computer system and document the event. B) Consult the client's medication orders and then administer the dose originally poured. C) Consult with a colleague and identify the source of the error signal before proceeding. D) Document the discrepancy and place the medication on hold until the next scheduled dose.
Diabetes is much more stable and predictable in the elderly than it is in younger individuals.
Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)