Chapter 50, Problem 2CAQ

Summary Introduction

To determine:

What are the priority assessments at this time considering Mrs C current decreased responsiveness? What should be done if there are any unexpected or abnormal findings?

Case summary:

A patient named Mrs.C was just transported to the surgical nursing division from the post anaesthesia critical unit (PCAU). She underwent surgery for her right colectomy. Since she is 80 years old and she shows vital signs like her body temperature with 36.8^oC (98^oF). She was fitted with intravenous (IV) line in her right arm, a Foley catheter, a nasogastric tube and oxygen at 4L/min per nasal cannula. She was administered with 5 mg of morphine sulphate as IV when she was in PACU and after admitted in patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), she is receiving a dose of 1 mg morphine sulphate every 10 minutes as IV. When assessing her she is very slow to respond to verbal questions.