A nurse in a provider's office is assessing an adolescent who has been taking ibuprofen for 6 months to treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Which of the following questions should the nurse ask to assess for an adverse effect of this medication?

Proceed with provision of medical care.

• A. Contact the facility's ethics committee: This is incorrect because it is not an urgent action and it does not address the client's immediate needs. The ethics committee can be consulted later if there are ethical dilemmas or conflicts regarding the client's care.
• B. Obtain consent from the client's employer: This is incorrect because it is not a valid source of consent. The employer has no legal or ethical authority to make decisions for the client, unless they are also a designated surrogate or proxy.
• C. Limit care to comfort measures: This is incorrect because it does not meet the standard of care for an emergency situation. The nurse has a duty to provide life-saving interventions for a client who is unconscious and requires emergency medical procedures, unless there is evidence of a valid advance directive that states otherwise.
• D. Proceed with provision of medical care: This is correct because it follows the principle of implied consent, which assumes that a reasonable person would consent to emergency treatment if they were able to do so. The nurse should document the circumstances and continue to search for family members or other sources of consent.

Assign the client to a private room with negative air pressure.

Rationale:

• A. Incorrect. Restricting fresh flowers from the client's room is not necessary for infection control purposes. However, some clients with pulmonary tuberculosis may have hypersensitivity reactions to certain plants or flowers, so the nurse should assess the client's allergies before allowing them in the room.
• B. Incorrect. Maintaining a distance of 1.8 m (6 feet) from the client is not sufficient to prevent transmission of tuberculosis. Visitors should also wear a HEPA respirator and limit their contact time with the client.
• C. Incorrect. A surgical mask is not adequate to protect the nurse from inhaling airborne droplet nuclei that contain Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The nurse should wear a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) respirator when providing client care.
• D. Correct. Assigning the client to a private room with negative air pressure is the most effective way to prevent the spread of tuberculosis to other clients and staff members. The room should have at least six air exchanges per hour and an exhaust system that vents directly to the outside.