A patient comes to the clinic for a 1-month follow-up appointment. The patient tells the nurse he or she has been taking chlorothiazide (Diruil) for a month and now has leg cramps and "feels tired all the time

" What will the nurse consider as the cause of the patient's symptoms? A) Hypercalcemia
B) Hypocalcemia
C) Hyperkalemia
D) Hypokalemia


D
Feedback:
Hypokalemia results from the loss of potassium in the distal tubule and causes muscle weakness, fatigue, and arrhythmias. Hyperkalemia presents with cardiac arrhythmias and occasionally muscle weakness. Hypercalcemia is characterized by fatigue, depression, mental confusion, nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Hypocalcemia presents with muscle spasms, facial grimacing, possible convulsions, irritability, and depression.

Nursing

You might also like to view...

A student nurse has been assigned a client to care for who is close to death. What must the student do first, prior to caring for the client?

A) Confirm the client's code status. B) Confront personal feelings and fears about death. C) Review the facility's policy on postmortem care. D) Confirm that the family has made funeral arrangements.

Nursing

As the head nurse involved in leading determination of which patient surveillance systems to acquire for your unit, one of your aims is to avoid adverse events through the implementation of appropriate technology

This particular aim recognizes that: a. Human error is significant in contributing to adverse events. b. Documentation of patient data is often illegible and therefore, misinterpreted. c. Data systems provide backup documenta-tion with adverse events that staff cannot provide. d. Physiologic monitoring systems enable detection of early changes before an ad-verse event occurs.

Nursing

Juvenile arthritis should be suspected in a child who exhibits

a. Frequent fractures b. Joint swelling and pain lasting longer than 6 weeks c. Increased joint mobility d. Lurching and abnormal gait, limited abduction

Nursing

A client has been prescribed a drug to prevent angina pain. What is the first type of medication prescribed to prevent angina?

1. Beta blockers 2. Alpha blockers 3. Calcium channel blockers 4. Organic nitrates

Nursing