A male client who is recovering in the hospital from complications of total hip arthroplasty has orders for 5 to 10 mg of oxycodone as needed that can be administered q4h

Question

In previous days, the client claimed relief with 5 mg doses but for the past 24 hours he has requested 10 mg doses. What is the most likely explanation for this phenomenon? A) The client is seeking the pleasurable effects of this opioid.
B) The client is adopting a dependent role in his recovery.
C) The client is developing a tolerance to the drug.
D) The client is becoming increasingly anxious about his lack of recovery.

Answer 1

C
Feedback:
Nurses often assume that a client's desire to experience the drug's pleasant effects motivates his or her desire for frequent doses of narcotics. What may be happening is that the prescribed dose or frequency of administration is not controlling the pain, a phenomenon that occurs as clients develop drug tolerance. This is more likely than the client's adoption of a dependent role or development of anxiety.