A 78-year-old patient is in the recovery room after having a lengthy surgery on his hip.
As he is gradually awakening, he requests pain medication. Within 10 minutes after receiving a dose of morphine sulfate, he is very lethargic and his respirations are shallow, with a rate of 7 per minute. The nurse prepares for which priority action at this time?
a. Assessment of the patient's pain level
b. Immediate intubation and artificial ventilation
c. Administration of naloxone (Narcan)
d. Close observation of signs of opioid tolerance
Question 2
A patient is prescribed 2500 units of heparin. How many milliliters should you draw up from a vial of heparin with a strength of 10,000 units/mL to make the correct dose? _____ mL
What is the answer?