A client is in the clinic with mild chest pain and is being treated with digitalis and diuretics. The client states that food has been of no interest the past several days
The nurse suspects that the client is experiencing hypokalemia, and expects the physician to order which laboratory test?
1. Hemoglobin and white blood cell count
2. Chest x-ray
3. ECG
4. CT scan
Answer: 3
1. Since the client is being treated with digitalis and diuretics and has chest pain, hemoglobin and white cell count would not be helpful in diagnosing the problem.
2. A chest x-ray cannot diagnose hypokalemia.
3. The nurse would expect serum electrolytes to be drawn and an ECG to be completed to identify dysrhythmias, since the client is experiencing chest pain.
4. A CT scan cannot identify hypokalemia or dysrhythmias.
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