A 75-year-old woman is prescribed magnesium hydroxide for constipation. The nurse's assessment reveals that the patient is being treated for rheumatoid arthritis and hypertension. The patient lives in assisted living and is on a low-sodium diet.
Before the magnesium hydroxide therapy begins, it will be most important for the nurse to assess the patient's
A) home environment.
B) diet.
C) activity level.
D) medication history.
Question 2
A patient with a recent diagnosis of acute renal failure has a long-standing seizure disorder which has been successfully controlled for several years with antiseizure medications.
The nurse should recognize that the patient's compromised renal function will likely
A) increase the half-life of medications that are metabolized by the kidneys.
B) decrease the first-pass effect of medications that the patient is given.
C) necessitate intravenous, rather than oral, medications.
D) make the antiseizure medications less effective than in the past.