The medical chart of a newly admitted client notes a penicillin allergy, yet the physician has just written an order for an antibiotic in the same drug family after reviewing the client's wound culture and sensitivity

Question

How should the nurse respond to this situation?

A) Withhold the medication until the potential drug allergy has been addressed by the care team.
B) Administer the medication and increase the frequency of assessments in the hours that follow.
C) Substitute an antibiotic with similar action, but which is from a different drug family.
D) Discuss the severity, signs and symptoms of the drug allergy with the client in order to ascertain the risks of administration.

Answer 1

Ans: A
Client safety is paramount, and the nurse has a responsibility to ensure that a potential threat of harm is identified and dealt with promptly. It is beyond the nurse's scope of practice to independently substitute another drug, and it would be unsafe to administer the drug in light of this revelation. The nurse would not administer the drug even if the client stated that his or her allergy is mild.