A 44-year-old male client was placed on a daily low-dose aspirin ...

[yoooooman]

A 44-year-old male client was placed on a daily low-dose aspirin regimen by his health care pro-vider following a recent diagnosis of hypertension and periodic atrial fibrillation. The client is currently hospitalized with renal stones.
 
  As the nurse is admitting the client, he shares that he has been very tired. The nurse gathers addi-tional data regarding his bowel habits. The client shares that he has recently had black, tarry stools. The nurse is most concerned that the client may have:
  1. Colon cancer
  2. A GI bleed from the aspirin therapy
  3. Ongoing atrial fibrillation
  4. Electrolyte imbalance

Question 2

The mother of an 18-month-old male client shares with the nurse that she is trying to get her child to tell her when he needs to have a bowel movement. Which of the following statements is the most appropriate response from the nurse?
 
  1. I'm sure that you will be glad to have your son out of diapers.
  2. I once heard of a child who was totally potty-trained by the time he was a year old.
  3. Development of neuromuscular control of the bowels doesn't normally occur un-til a child is between 2 and 3 year of age.
  4. You will have to really be persistent about taking him to the bathroom frequently in order to be successful.

[SAUXC]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: 2
Although the client could have any one of the items mentioned, it is most likely that the aspirin is causing a GI bleed. The loss of blood can cause the client to be fatigued. Aspirin is a prostaglan-din inhibitor, which interferes with the formation and production of protective mucus and causes GI bleeding.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: 3
Developmental changes affecting elimination occur throughout life. The infant is unable to con-trol defecation because of a lack of neuromuscular development. This development usually does not take place until 2 to 3 years of age.

[yoooooman]

TYSM

[Bigfoot1984]

Excellent