A patient is receiving digoxin twice daily. When assessing the patient before giving a dose, the nurse counts a pulse of 60 beats per minute and learns that the patient is experiencing nausea

Question

The nurse consults a drug manual and verifies that the ordered dose is correct. What will the nurse do?
a. Contact the prescriber to report the symptoms.
b. Delay the dose so the drug can clear from receptor sites.
c. Give the medication as ordered, because the dose is correct.
d. Request an antinausea medication from the prescriber.

Answer 1

ANS: A
The symptoms indicate toxicity, and even though the dose is safe and effective in most cases, an individual patient may have toxic effects with a standard dose. The nurse should contact the prescriber to discuss the next steps. Delaying a dose without a change in order is not within the scope of practice for a nurse. The nurse should not give a dose of a medication when toxicity is suspected, because additional drug will compound the symptoms. Antiemetics are useful for counteracting drug side effects, but they should not be used when the patient's symptoms indicate toxicity.