The nurse determines that the patient's urinary output from the suprapubic catheter is 150 mL for 8 hours. What does the nurse implement as a follow-up nursing intervention?

Question

a. Encourage coughing and deep breathing.
b. Clamp the urinary catheter for 30 minutes.
c. Contact the healthcare provider for a di-uretic.
d. Assess the patient's intake and catheter patency.

Answer 1

D
Before concluding that the patient's urinary output is deficient, the nurse completes the assess-ment to eliminate inadequate intake and catheter obstruction as the potential causes of the low urine output. The nurse expected at least 240 mL of urine in 8 hours. Coughing and deep breath-ing are ineffective responses for low urine output. Clamping the catheter is wholly counterpro-ductive. The nurse needs to complete the urinary assessment before determining that a diuretic is suitable therapy for the patient; if a diuretic were proper, the patient would exhibit other clinical indicators of fluid volume overload such as crackles, edema, and jugular venous distention.