A nurse is preparing a client for discharge home after an admission for bilateral pulmonary emboli. The client is prescribed warfarin in addition to regular daily medications. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?
Advise the client that over-the-counter medications remain safe to consume as needed.
Consult the pharmacist about potential interactions between the client’s regular medications and warfarin.
Recommend the client take warfarin at the same time as other medications.
Tell the client they can continue to drink cranberry juice while taking warfarin.
The Correct Answer is B
Choice A reason: Advising over-the-counter medications as safe is incorrect, as many, like NSAIDs, increase warfarin’s bleeding risk by inhibiting platelets or affecting liver metabolism. Warfarin’s narrow therapeutic index requires careful management to prevent hemorrhage, making broad safety claims dangerous without specific evaluation.
Choice B reason: Consulting the pharmacist identifies interactions with warfarin, a vitamin K antagonist metabolized by CYP450 enzymes. Many drugs alter warfarin’s efficacy, risking thrombosis or bleeding. Pharmacist expertise ensures safe polypharmacy, maintaining therapeutic INR levels critical for managing pulmonary emboli effectively.
Choice C reason: Recommending warfarin with other medications ignores interaction risks and timing needs. Warfarin’s absorption is unaffected by timing, but CYP450 interactions can alter INR. This advice is irrelevant to safety, missing the need for individualized regimen assessment to prevent complications in anticoagulation therapy.
Choice D reason: Cranberry juice may enhance warfarin’s effect by inhibiting CYP2C9, increasing INR and bleeding risk. Advising its use without monitoring is unsafe, as dietary factors can destabilize anticoagulation, potentially causing hemorrhage in clients with pulmonary emboli, requiring careful dietary guidance.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Dry cough is not associated with sertraline, an SSRI affecting serotonin pathways. Cough is linked to ACE inhibitors via bradykinin accumulation, not SSRIs, which cause neurological or gastrointestinal side effects. Including this misinforms the client about sertraline’s actual adverse effect profile.
Choice B reason: Increased urinary frequency is not a common sertraline side effect. SSRIs may cause urinary retention due to anticholinergic effects, but frequent urination is linked to diuretics or diabetes. Sertraline’s effects focus on serotonin-mediated mood changes, not bladder function alterations.
Choice C reason: Excessive sweating is a recognized sertraline adverse effect, driven by serotonin’s influence on autonomic sweat gland regulation. This hyperhidrosis, common in SSRI therapy, affects patient comfort and adherence, requiring education to prepare clients for this side effect during depression treatment.
Choice D reason: Metallic taste is not linked to sertraline. It occurs with antibiotics or chemotherapy agents due to oral mucosa irritation. Sertraline’s side effects include nausea or insomnia, driven by serotonin modulation, not gustatory changes, making this an incorrect inclusion in teaching.
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: A heart rate of 60/min is within normal range and does not indicate fluid overload, which may present with tachycardia due to increased cardiac workload. This finding is more consistent with normal physiology or hypovolemia, making it incorrect for identifying fluid overload.
Choice B reason: Skin warm and dry suggests normal hydration or dehydration, not fluid overload, which typically causes edema or moist skin. Dry skin indicates fluid deficit, not excess, making this finding irrelevant and incorrect for assessing fluid overload in this client.
Choice C reason: A respiratory rate of 30/min indicates tachypnea, a sign of fluid overload due to pulmonary edema from excess IV fluids. Fluid in the lungs impairs gas exchange, increasing breathing effort, aligning with clinical manifestations of overload, making this the correct finding.
Choice D reason: Tenting skin turgor indicates dehydration, not fluid overload, as it reflects reduced skin elasticity from fluid loss. Fluid overload causes edema, not tenting, making this finding opposite to the expected presentation and incorrect for this scenario.
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