A nurse is preparing to administer a patient's scheduled parenteral nutrition (PN). Upon inspecting the bag, the nurse notices that the presence of small amounts of white precipitate are present in the bag. What is the nurse's best action?
A) Recognize this as an expected finding.
B) Place the bag in a warm environment for 30 minutes.
C) Shake the bag vigorously for 10 to 20 seconds.
D) Contact the pharmacy to obtain a new bag of PN.
Ans: D
Feedback:
Before PN infusion is administered, the solution must be inspected for separation, oily appearance (also known as a "cracked solution"), or any precipitate (which appears as white crystals). If any of these are present, it is not used. Warming or shaking the bag is inappropriate and unsafe.
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