The nurse is caring for a child who has ingested a toxic amount of aspirin. The provider orders an intravenous drug that will increase pH in the blood and urine. The nurse understands that this effect is necessary to:

Question

a. decrease the gastric absorption of aspirin.
b. decrease the lipid solubility of aspirin.
c. increase the serum protein binding of as-pirin.
d. increase the urinary excretion of aspirin.

Answer 1

D
The phenomenon of pH-dependent ionization can be used to accelerate renal excretion of drugs. When children have been exposed to toxic amounts of aspirin, they can be treated, in part, by giving an agent that elevates urinary pH, leading to less passive reabsorption of the now ionized molecules of aspirin and, hence, more excretion. Elevating the pH of the blood and urine does not affect absorption in the stomach. Ionization of aspirin does not affect lipid solubility or pro-tein binding.