Question

1. Mrs. Dean is 75-year-old woman admitted to the hospital for a small bowel obstruction. Her medical history includes hypertension. Mrs. Dean is NPO. She has a nasogastric (NG) tube to low continuous suction. She has an IV of 0.9% NS at 83 mL/hr. Current medications include furosemide 20 mg daily and hydromorphone 0.2 mg every 4 hours, as needed for pain. The morning electrolytes reveal serum potassium of 3.2 mEq/L. (Learning Objective 4)

What are possible causes of a low potassium level?

What action should the nurse take in relation to the serum potassium level?

What clinical manifestations might the nurse assess in Mrs. Dean?

Answer 1

1). The abbreviation “NPO” means “Nothing by mouth,” which means nothing (or no food) is given through the oral food.

In the given case, the patient is, “NPO,” and also taking furosemide (non-potassium sparing diuretic), which are the possible causes of low potassium levels and dehydration.

2). The nurse have to inform the physician about the low potassium levels as it can cause cardiac arrhythmias. So, the potassium must be administered to the patient.

3). Some of the clinical manifestations that the nurse might assess in Mrs. Dean (as a result of low potassium levels) include, cardiac arrhythmias, nausea, vomiting, cramps of leg muscles, fatigue, polyuria, abdominal distention, and reduced reflex activity.