A nurse is performing blood glucose monitoring on a client. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

A. Encourage visits from family members: While family presence can help reduce anxiety and reorient clients with delirium, it is not the immediate first step. Before implementing supportive strategies, the nurse must first assess the client’s neurological status to determine the severity and possible cause of the delirium.

B. Administer an anxiolytic medication: Administering medications should not be the first action because delirium can be caused by multiple reversible factors. Sedating a client without identifying the underlying cause may worsen confusion or mask important symptoms that need immediate intervention.

C. Determine the client's level of consciousness: Assessing the client’s level of consciousness is the priority because it provides critical information about the severity of the delirium and helps guide immediate and appropriate interventions. Early assessment ensures that life-threatening conditions, such as hypoxia or sepsis, are not overlooked.

D. Keep lights on in the client's room: Maintaining a well-lit environment can help prevent disorientation, especially at night, but it is a secondary supportive measure. Assessment of mental status must occur first to prioritize safety and identify urgent medical needs.

A. Epinephrine relaxes the bronchioles and counteracts the effect of histamine: Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis because it rapidly relaxes bronchial smooth muscles, reducing airway constriction, and counteracts histamine's effects, which include vasodilation, edema, and hypotension. This helps restore breathing and circulation.

B. Epinephrine should be given along with a beta blocker: Administering epinephrine with a beta blocker is dangerous because beta blockers can reduce the effectiveness of epinephrine and may worsen bronchospasm. Beta blockers are not recommended during acute management of anaphylaxis.

C. Epinephrine should be administered intranasally: Epinephrine is typically administered intramuscularly (IM), usually into the thigh, during anaphylactic emergencies for rapid absorption. Intranasal administration is not effective for treating life-threatening systemic allergic reactions.

D. Epinephrine causes a decrease in blood pressure: Epinephrine actually increases blood pressure by causing vasoconstriction. This counters the dangerous hypotension that occurs during anaphylaxis, helping to stabilize cardiovascular function quickly.