The nurse is emptying the bedside commode of a patient with chronic leukemia and notes that the stool is very dark. Which assumption should guide the nurse's action?
a. The patient ate something that turned the stool a dark color.
b. The patient is most likely on iron supplements.
c. The patient may be bleeding.
d. The patient may be dehydrated.
ANS: C
Black stools are a sign of gastrointestinal bleeding. Iron supplements and some foods may change stool color, but if the patient has leukemia, the nurse cannot assume that the cause is unimportant. Dehydration is associated with constipation, not dark stools.
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he nurse teaches a patient with advanced COPD to use pursed lip breathing. Which statement indicates that the patient understands the rationale for this type of breathing?
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