A patient with a vein thromboembolism is to be started on oral warfarin (Coumadin) while still receiving intravenous heparin. What is the nurse's best action?
a. Administer the drugs as prescribed.
b. Remind the prescriber that two anticoagulants should not be administered con-currently.
c. Hold the dose of warfarin until the patient's activated partial thromboplastin time is the same as the control value.
d. Monitor the patient for clinical manifestations of internal or external bleeding at least every 2 hours.
A
Although both heparin and warfarin are anticoagulants, they have different mechanisms of action and onsets of action. Because warfarin has such a slow onset, it must be started while the patient is still receiving heparin.
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A patient in the ICU starts complaining of being "short of breath." An arterial blood gas (ABG) is drawn. The ABG has the following values: pH = 7.21, PaCO2 = 64 mm Hg, HCO3 = 24 mm Hg. What does the ABG reflect?
A) Respiratory acidosis B) Metabolic alkalosis C) Respiratory alkalosis D) Metabolic acidosis
Ferrous sulfate is prescribed for an individual with iron deficiency anemia. The patient should be instructed to expect which harmless side effect?
a. Black stools b. Bloody diarrhea c. Fever d. Severe abdominal cramps
The major principle underlying chiropractic therapy is that
a. movement keeps the body's life forces in correct balance and flow b. the brain sends vital energy to every organ in the body via the nerves originating in the spinal column c. an imbalance in the energy fields causes discomfort and disease d. the body is divided into 10 equal, longitudinal zones that run the length of the body from the top of the head to the tip of the toes
The principles most commonly used in ethical principlism are:
a. autonomy and non-maleficence. b. beneficence and justice. c. autonomy and ethics. d. a and b.