The nurse decides that collaboration with the healthcare provider is needed to review and possibly adjust the dose of analgesic for an 87-year-old patient. What is the rationale for this re-quest?
a. Older adults have higher risks of injury with intramuscular (IM) injections.
b. Analgesics aren't necessary for older adults because of decreased pain sensa-tion.
c. Impaired cognition impairs reporting of pain by older patients.
d. Liver and kidney metabolism is usually slower in older adults.
D
As the adult ages, hepatic and renal clearance of medication usually decreases or slows, so me-dication has a longer duration of action, and doses exert a stronger effect than in younger people. The nurse helps to maintain patient safety and prevent injury by collaborating to adjust the dose of the analgesic. Risk of injury from an IM injection refers to the route of administration and is not dependent on the dose. Nothing in the question indicates that an IM injection is the mode of administration. The nurse uses the patient's self-report of pain felt to help determine the need for pain relief; reporting pain refers to patient assessment. This option does not address the reason for adjusting the dosage.
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