A nurse is preparing to administer erythromycin PO to a client who has an infection. The nurse checks the client's medical record and notes that the client has a severe allergy to penicillin. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

B. Hemoglobin levels should be monitored regularly to assess the effectiveness of epoetin alfa therapy. Epoetin alfa stimulates the production of red blood cells, which should result in an increase in hemoglobin levels over time in clients with anemia. Monitoring hemoglobin levels helps determine if the medication is achieving the desired therapeutic effect.

A. Thrombin time measures the time it takes for a clot to form in a blood sample after thrombin is added. It is primarily used to assess abnormalities in the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin during the clotting process. Thrombin time is not typically monitored to assess the effectiveness of epoetin alfa.
C. AST is an enzyme found primarily in the liver and heart. Elevated AST levels may indicate liver or heart damage but are not specifically related to the effectiveness of epoetin alfa therapy. AST is not routinely monitored to assess the effectiveness of epoetin alfa.
D. Troponin is a cardiac biomarker used to diagnose myocardial infarction (heart attack). Elevated troponin levels indicate damage to the heart muscle. Troponin levels are not directly related to the effectiveness of epoetin alfa therapy and are not routinely monitored for this purpose.

A. Discarding excess medication with a witness is necessary as the medication cannot be saved or reused.
B. Morphine is a controlled substance, and administering a partial dose and saving the rest for later use may lead to potential errors, diversion, or contamination of the remaining medication.
C. While excess medication should be disposed of properly, it is not necessary to dispose of the entire in the sharp’s container. Only the container itself should go to the sharp’s container.

D. The nurse should not administer the full prescribed dose of morphine from the prefilled syringe as that is an overdose as it can lead to respiratory depression.