An older patient with heart and end-stage renal failure is hearing things and seeing things that others do not. How does the nurse best describe this finding?
1. Deteriorating sense of vision and hearing
2. Late-onset mental illness
3. Overdose of narcotic medication
4. Visual and auditory hallucinations at the end of life
4. Visual and auditory hallucinations at the end of life
Explanation: 1. Respiratory, neurological, and cardiac changes are more likely to indicate impending death. Senses may become more heightened during the dying process.
2. Visual and auditory hallucinations in the terminally ill patient do not indicate a mental illness.
3. Visual and auditory hallucinations in the terminally ill patient do not occur because of an overdose of narcotic medication. A change in respiratory status would indicate an overdose of narcotic medication.
4. Terminal delirium presents as confusion, restlessness, and/or agitation, with or without day—night reversal. Visual, auditory, and olfactory hallucinations may occur during this time. It is important for the nurse to understand that this condition is irreversible.
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