A client with an ileostomy who has been discharged from the hospital calls the clinic and asks the nurse if he should take another one of his "potassium pills" because there is a waxy coating on the ileostomy from the pill
What is the best response by the nurse? A) "You should take another pill because the residue means the potassium was not absorbed."
B) "You will just have to omit the dose for today because we don't know how much of the medication was absorbed."
C) "Some medications like this leave a "ghost" of the wax matrix coating, but it doesn't mean the drug wasn't absorbed."
D) "There must have been a defect in the medication for it to leave the waxy coating."
C
Feedback:
Some preparations such as potassium chloride (Slow-K) leave a "ghost" of the wax matrix coating, but that does not indicate the drug has been unabsorbed. The client should not take another potassium supplement that could increase the risk of elevated potassium levels. The dose was not omitted, and there is not a defect in the medication; it is an expected effect.
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