A terminally ill client with liver cancer is experiencing great discomfort. Which of the following is a realistic goal in caring for this client?
a. Increasingly administer narcotics to oversedate the client and thereby decrease the pain.
b. Continue to change the analgesics until the right narcotic is found that completely alleviates the pain.
c. Adapt the analgesics as the nursing assessment reveals changes in client condition and pain.
d. Withhold analgesics as they are not being effective in relieving discomfort.
C
The best choice of treatment often changes as the client's condition and the characteristics of pain change. It is realistic to expect that a terminally ill client's need for pain medication will change over time with disease progression.
The goal is not to oversedate the client, but to provide pain control without excessive sedation.
It would be unrealistic to expect that the pain of terminal cancer will be completely alleviated.
Analgesics should not be withheld, as this would only increase the client's level of pain. The medication regimen may require adaptation to meet the client's needs.
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