A nurse is caring for a 70-year-old male client on a medical-surgical unit.

Exhibits

Which action should the nurse take next?

Choice A rationale

A carotid bruit is indicative of arterial turbulence, often associated with atherosclerosis or vascular narrowing. This finding does not correlate with the assessment of ineffective cardiac contractions.

Choice B rationale

Heart murmurs result from abnormal valve function or turbulent intracardiac blood flow and are unrelated to the assessment of contraction efficacy in this scenario.

Choice C rationale

Pulse deficit reflects ineffective cardiac contractions where some heartbeats fail to produce adequate stroke volume to generate palpable pulses, highlighting impaired cardiac output and perfusion.

Choice D rationale

A bounding radial pulse demonstrates robust ventricular contractions, often due to sympathetic activation or increased blood volume, and does not signify poor cardiac contraction effectiveness.

Choice A rationale: Hypoglycemia typically presents with symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and palpitations. The client's severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and jaundice are not consistent with hypoglycemia.

Choice B rationale: Pancreatitis is characterized by severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, and jaundice. The client's symptoms, including severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and faint yellow hue to sclera, are consistent with pancreatitis2.

Choice C rationale: Myocardial infarction usually presents with chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and nausea. The client's primary symptom is severe abdominal pain, which is not typical for myocardial infarction4.

Choice D rationale: Gastroenteritis typically presents with symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. The client's severe abdominal pain, jaundice, and fever are more indicative of pancreatitis than gastroenteritis6.