The nurse is reviewing the medication history of a preoperative patient who is NPO. The patient is noted to have been on long-term oral steroid therapy. What action should the nurse take?
a. Ensure that the physician is informed of the patient's history of steroid use.
b. Hold steroid medication while the patient is receiving nothing by mouth.
c. Administer the steroid medication topically.
d. Monitor vital signs and document.
ANS: A
Patients on chronic oral steroid therapy cannot abruptly stop their medication even though they are told to take nothing by mouth (NPO) before or after surgery. Serious complications, such as circulatory collapse, can develop if steroids are stopped abruptly. The physician should be informed so the patient's steroid therapy can be given by a parenteral route if the patient is NPO.
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