A nurse teaches a client who is prescribed an unsealed ...

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A nurse teaches a client who is prescribed an unsealed radioactive isotope. Which statements should the nurse include in this client's education? (Select all that apply.)
 
  a. Do not share utensils, plates, and cups with anyone else.
  b. You can play with your grandchildren for 1 hour each day.
  c. Eat foods high in vitamins such as apples, pears, and oranges.
  d. Wash your clothing separate from others in the household.
  e. Take a laxative 2 days after therapy to excrete the radiation.

Question 2

A nurse cares for a client with elevated triiodothyronine and thyroxine, and normal thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. Which actions should the nurse take? (Select all that apply.)
 
  a. Administer levothyroxine (Synthroid).
  b. Administer propranolol (Inderal).
  c. Monitor the apical pulse.
  d. Assess for Trousseau's sign.
  e. Initiate telemetry monitoring.

[bulacsom]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A, D, E
A client who is prescribed an unsealed radioactive isotope should be taught to not share utensils, plates, and cups with anyone else; to avoid contact with pregnant women and children; to avoid eating foods with cores or bones, which will leave contaminated remnants; to wash clothing separate from others in the household and run an empty cycle before washing other people's clothing; and to take a laxative on days 2 and 3 after receiving treatment to help excrete the contaminated stool faster.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: C, E
The client's laboratory findings suggest that the client is experiencing hyperthyroidism. The increased metabolic rate can cause an increase in the client's heart rate, and the client should be monitored for the development of dysrhythmias. Placing the client on a telemetry monitor might also be a precaution. Levothyroxine is given for hypothyroidism. Propranolol is a beta blocker often used to lower sympathetic nervous system activity in hyperthyroidism. Trousseau's sign is a test for hypocalcemia.