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.

  1. What are possible causes of a low potassium level?
  2. What action should the nurse take in relation to the serum potassium level?
  3. What clinical manifestations might the nurse assess in Mrs. Dean? Get Health and Medical Help Today
Published by
Medical
View all posts