Mrs. Dean is 75-year-old woman admitted to the hospital for a small bowel obstru

Question

Mrs. Dean is 75-year-old woman admitted to the hospital for a small bowel obstruction. Her medical history includes hypertension. Mrs.Dean is NPO. She has a nasogatric (NG) tube to low continuous suction. She has an IV of 0.9% NS at 83mL/hr. Current medications include furosemide 20mg daily and hydromorphone 0.2mg every 4 hours, as need for pain. The morning electrolytes reveal serum potassium of 3.2 mEq/L.( Learning objective 4).
a. what are possibly causes of a low potassium level?
b. what action should the nurse take in relation to the serum potassium level?
c. what clinical manifestations might the nurse asses in Mrs.Dean?

Explanation / Answer

a) There can be two reasons for the low potassium level.

b) The nurse should inform the doctor about the low potassium level and suggest to administer potassium.

c) The nurse should asses the following clinical manifestation.

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