The patient, diagnosed with angina, tells the nurse he is having chest pain. There is an order for oral sublingual nitroglycerin as needed. What action should the nurse take?
A) Place two nitroglycerin tablets under the patient's tongue and call the physician.
B) Place one tablet under the patient's tongue and repeat every 5 minutes for total of three tablets until pain has been relieved.
C) Have the patient swallow a tablet with a full glass of water and repeat in 10 minutes.
D) Apply a nitroglycerin transdermal patch to the patient's back.
B
Feedback:
The correct administration for sublingual administration is to place one tablet under the patient's tongue and repeat every 5 minutes for a total of three tablets until pain is relieved. If pain is not relieved after three sublingual tablets, the health care provider should be notified. Transdermal application would be inappropriate and nitroglycerin is not swallowed. Administering two tablets at one time would be an inappropriate dosage and could cause serious adverse effects.
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