20.6.3: What Should the Nurse Do?

What should the nurse do if they triage a patient with a seven-day history of diarrhea who presents with dry mucous membranes and mental confusion?

What should the nurse do if a patient is ordered an IV potassium replacement, and their urine output has declined over the last four hours?

Peggy is a 74-year-old patient with chronic renal disease who presents to the emergency department with fluid overload, a headache, and peaked T waves on the cardiac bedside monitor. A basic metabolic panel is drawn that shows the following: a sodium level of 128 mEq/L, a potassium level of 6 mEq/L, a BUN of 40 mg/dL, a creatinine level of 2 mg/dL, a chloride level of 85 mEq/L, and a calcium level of 8 mg/dL. Which electrolyte abnormality should the nurse associate with the patient’s peaked T waves? Why would this electrolyte abnormality cause this finding?

A patient who is sedated and on mechanical ventilation has a routine arterial blood gas (ABG) drawn that shows the following:

• pH: 7.5
• PaCO₂: 28 mm Hg
• HCO₃^–: 23 mEq/L

What acid-base imbalance is the patient experiencing? What should the nurse do to correct the acid-base imbalance?