A patient comes to the clinic complaining of frequent, watery ...

[corkyiscool3328]

A patient comes to the clinic complaining of frequent, watery stools for the last 2 days. Which action should the nurse take first?
 
  a. Obtain the baseline weight.
  b. Check the patient's blood pressure.
  c. Draw blood for serum electrolyte levels.
  d. Ask about any extremity numbness or tingling.

Question 2

The nurse notes a serum calcium level of 7.9 mg/dL for a patient who has chronic malnutrition. Which action should the nurse take next?
 
  a. Monitor ionized calcium level.
  b. Give oral calcium citrate tablets.
  c. Check parathyroid hormone level.
  d. Administer vitamin D supplements.

[janeli]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: B
Because the patient's history suggests that fluid volume deficit may be a problem, assessment for adequate circulation is the highest priority. The other actions are also appropriate, but are not as essential as determining the patient's perfusion status.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: A
This patient with chronic malnutrition is likely to have a low serum albumin level, which will affect the total serum calcium. A more accurate reflection of calcium balance is the ionized calcium level. Most of the calcium in the blood is bound to protein (primarily albumin). Alterations in serum albumin levels affect the interpretation of total calcium levels. Low albumin levels result in a drop in the total calcium level, although the level of ionized calcium is not affected. The other actions may be needed if the ionized calcium is also decreased.

[corkyiscool3328]

TYSM

[ashely1112]

Wow, this really help