Author Question: A nurse has notified an 80-year-old client's physician that the client's laboratory values ... (Read 70 times)

ETearle · **on:** Jul 22, 2018

A nurse has notified an 80-year-old client's physician that the client's laboratory values indicating kidney function have fallen below the minimum reference range.

The nurse should be aware of what consideration that affects the interpretation of laboratory values in elderly clients? A) Levels of most laboratory values in older adults are more stable than those of younger people.
B) Laboratory values are considered an unreliable indicator of health status in older adults.
C) Laboratory values must be measured after a period of fasting in order to be considered accurate in older adults.
D) An older adult may have normal laboratory values that would be considered abnormal in a younger adult.

Question 2

A nurse is reviewing a client's medical record and reads that the client underwent pericardiocentesis earlier in the year. The nurse should discern from this medical term that the pericardium of the client's heart was:

A) Visualized with a camera
B) Punctured
C) Flushed with a solution
D) Measured

Cnarkel · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

D
Feedback:
The norms of some lab values change somewhat with age. An abnormality in a younger person may be normal for an older person or vice versa. Not all lab values require fasting. Laboratory values of older clients have the potential to be volatile and unstable.

Answer to Question 2

B
Feedback:
The suffix -centesis denotes that a structure was punctured.