A patient who is prescribed oral quinidine (Quinaglute) for a tachydysrhythmia is on a cardiac monitor, which shows lengthening PR intervals. What is the nurse's best action?
a. Perform a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG).
b. Send a serum potassium level to the laboratory.
c. Document this as an expected action of the drug.
d. Notify the prescriber immediately.
D
Quinidine is a class Ia antidysrhythmic drug that can slow the conduction of electrical impulses through the heart and lengthen the interval between the QRS complex and the T wave. This in-creases the patient's risk for development of an abnormal life-threatening ventricular rhythm called torsades de pointes, which can rapidly lead to ventricular fibrillation.
You might also like to view...
The nurse works in a small hospital that uses narrative documentation rather than computer documentation. The nurse makes a practice of documenting care only at the end of the shift, just before giving shift report
Which aspect of documentation credibility does this most clearly violate? 1. It is contemporaneous. 2. It is accurate. 3. It is truthful. 4. It is appropriate.
A nursing student asks why a direct-acting cholinergic agonist drug that is selective to muscarinic receptors is described as being non-specific. The nurse will explain that this is because
a. muscarinic receptors are present in many different tissues. b. the action of cholinesterase alters the bioavailability at different sites. c. these drugs can also affect nicotinic receptors. d. they vary in their reversible and irreversible effects.
The term used to describe sexual changes that occur in the transition of a female from middle age to old age is
A) Plateau B) Menopause C) Menarche D) Climacteric
Both alkylating agents and platinum coordination complexes
A. cause cross-linking of the DNA B. are folic acid analogs C. inhibit mitosis D. are hormone antagonists E. inhibit protein synthesis