A patient has been taking mirtazapine (Remeron) for the last 3 months. Which blood laboratory result from the patient does the nurse report to the prescriber?
a. Lactate dehydrogenase 122 mg/dL
b. International normalized ratio (INR) 1.3
c. White blood cell count (WBC) 2100/mm3
d. Platelet count 356,000/mm3
C
Mirtazapine can suppress bone marrow production of WBCs (neutropenia) which can greatly increase the patient's risk for infection. The normal WBC range is 5000 to 10,000/mm3 . This pa-tient's WBC count is low and drug dosage adjustment or drug changes are needed.
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The nurse is caring for a critically ill patient with terminal cancer. The monitor alarms and shows ventricular tachycardia. The patient does not have a "do not resuscitate" order written on the chart. What is the appropriate nursing action?
a. Contact the attending physician immediately to determine if CPR should be initiated. b. Contact the family immediately to determine if they want CPR to be started. c. Give emergency medications but withhold intubation. d. Initiate CPR and call a code.
The nurse is providing information to a patient who has recently been diagnosed with genital herpes. Which statements indicates the need for further instruction? (Select all that apply.)
a. "I am only contagious when I have open sores." b. "The infection is limited to only my ge-nital region." c. "There is no permanent cure for this con-dition." d. "I will need to contact my physician for antibiotic cream for the open lesions whenever I have an outbreak." e. "Washing my hands is going to be a good method to prevent introduction of bacteria to the area."
The patient receives levodopa (Larodopa). The nurse has completed medication education and determines that learning has occurred when the patient makes which statement?
1. "I need to increase my daily intake of protein." 2. "I must increase the fiber in my diet." 3. "I need to check my pulse before taking the medication." 4. "I must avoid yellow vegetables in my diet."
The nurse obtains information from a patient about the site, severity, and duration of the pain. These data are considered to be:
a. patient data. b. objective data. c. focused data. d. subjective data.