Chapter 43: Assessment and Management of Patients with Hepatic Disorders

A student accepted into a nursing program must begin receiving the hepatitis B series of injections. The student asks when the next two injections should be administered. What is the best response by the instructor?

"You must have the second one in 1 month and the third in 6 months."

The nurse is assessing a client with cirrhosis of the liver. Which stool characteristic would the nurse expect the client to report?

Clay-colored or whitish

Which type of deficiency results in macrocytic anemia?

Folic acid

A client has developed drug-induced hepatitis from a drug reaction to antidepressants. What treatment does the nurse anticipate the client will receive to treat the reaction?

High-dose corticosteroids

When caring for a client with hepatitis B, the nurse should monitor closely for the development of which finding associated with a decrease in hepatic function?

Irritability and drowsiness

The nurse is administering medications to a client that has elevated ammonia due to cirrhosis of the liver. What medication will the nurse give to detoxify ammonium and to act as an osmotic agent?

Lactulose

After undergoing a liver biopsy, a client should be placed in which position?

Right lateral decubitus position

Which of the following diagnostic studies definitely confirms the presence of ascites?

Ultrasound of liver and abdomen

When caring for a client with advanced cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy, which assessment finding should the nurse report immediately?

Change in the client's handwriting and/or cognitive performance

A nurse is caring for a client with cholelithiasis. Which sign indicates obstructive jaundice?

Clay-colored stools

A client reporting shortness of breath is admitted with a diagnosis of cirrhosis. A nursing assessment reveals an enlarged abdomen with striae, an umbilical hernia, and 4+ pitting edema of the feet and legs. What is the most important data for the nurse to monitor?

Albumin

The single modality of pharmacologic therapy for chronic type B viral hepatitis is:

Alpha-interferon

A nurse is caring for a patient with cancer of the liver whose condition has required the insertion of a percutaneous biliary drainage system. The nurse's most recent assessment reveals the presence of dark green fluid in the collection container. What is the nurse's best response to this assessment finding?

Document the presence of normal bile output.

The nurse is caring for a client suspected of having stones that have collected in the common bile duct. What test should the nurse prepare the client for that will locate these stones?

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

The nurse identifies which type of jaundice in an adult experiencing a transfusion reaction?

Hemolytic

The assessment of a client admitted with increased ascites related to cirrhosis reveals the following: pulse 86 beats per minute and weak, respirations 28 breaths per minute, blood pressure 130/88 mm Hg, and pulse oximetry 90%. Which nursing diagnosis should receive top priority?

Ineffective breathing pattern

The nurse is caring for a client with cirrhosis. Which assessment findings indicate that the client has deficient vitamin K absorption caused by this hepatic disease?

Purpura and petechiae

Which liver function study is used to show the size of the liver and hepatic blood flow and obstruction?

Radioisotope liver scan

A client with liver cirrhosis develops ascites. Which medication will the nurse prepare teaching for this client?

Spironolactone

A nurse is caring for a client with cirrhosis. The nurse assesses the client at noon and discovers that the client is difficult to arouse and has an elevated serum ammonia level. The nurse should suspect which situation?

The client's hepatic function is decreasing.

Ammonia, the major etiologic factor in the development of encephalopathy, inhibits neurotransmission. Increased levels of ammonia are damaging to the body. The largest source of ammonia is from:

The digestion of dietary and blood proteins.

A client with severe and chronic liver disease is showing manifestations related to inadequate vitamin intake and metabolism. He reports difficulty driving at night because he cannot see well. Which of the following vitamins is most likely deficient for this client?

Vitamin A

The nurse is administering Cephulac (lactulose) to decrease the ammonia level in a patient who has hepatic encephalopathy. What should the nurse carefully monitor for that may indicate a medication overdose?

Watery diarrhea

A student accepted into a nursing program must begin receiving the hepatitis B series of injections. The student asks when the next two injections should be administered. What is the best response by the instructor?

You must have the second one in 1 month and the third in 6 months."

Ammonia, the major etiologic factor in the development of encephalopathy, inhibits neurotransmission. Increased levels of ammonia are damaging to the body. The largest source of ammonia is from:

The digestion of dietary and blood proteins

Which is the most common cause of esophageal varices?

Portal hypertension

The nurse is assessing a client with hepatic cirrhosis for mental deterioration. For what clinical manifestations will the nurse monitor? Select all that apply.

Agitation Insomnia Alterations in mood

Which of the following is the most effective strategy to prevent hepatitis B infection?

Vaccine

A client with liver and renal failure has severe ascites. On initial shift rounds, his primary nurse finds his indwelling urinary catheter collection bag too full to store more urine. The nurse empties more than 2,000 ml from the collection bag. One hour later, she finds the collection bag full again. The nurse notifies the physician, who suspects that a bladder rupture is allowing the drainage of peritoneal fluid. The physician orders a urinalysis to be obtained immediately. The presence of which substance is considered abnormal?

albumin

A nurse educator is providing an in-service to a group of nurses working on a medical floor that specializes in liver disorders. What is an important education topic regarding ingestion of medications?

metabolism of medications

A client with acute liver failure exhibits confusion, a declining level of consciousness, and slowed respirations. The nurse finds him very difficult to arouse. The diagnostic information which best explains the client's behavior is:

subnormal serum glucose and elevated serum ammonia levels.

A previously healthy adult's sudden and precipitous decline in health has been attributed to fulminant hepatic failure, and the client has been admitted to the intensive care unit. The nurse should be aware that the treatment of choice for this client is what?

Liver transplantation

The nurse is caring for a patient with ascites due to cirrhosis of the liver. What position does the nurse understand will activate the renin-angiotensin aldosterone and sympathetic nervous system and decrease responsiveness to diuretic therapy?

upright

A client with cirrhosis has portal hypertension, which is causing esophageal varices. What is the goal of the interventions that the nurse will provide?

Reduce fluid accumulation and venous pressure.

A physician orders spironolactone (Aldactone), 50 mg by mouth four times daily, for a client with fluid retention caused by cirrhosis. Which finding indicates that the drug is producing a therapeutic effect?

Loss of 2.2 lb (1 kg) in 24 hours

A client is admitted for suspected GI disease. Assessment data reveal muscle wasting, a decrease in chest and axillary hair, and increased bleeding tendency. The nurse suspects the client has:

cirrhosis.

A client is being prepared to undergo laboratory and diagnostic testing to confirm the diagnosis of cirrhosis. Which test would the nurse expect to be used to provide definitive confirmation of the disorder?

liver biopsy

A client with carcinoma of the head of the pancreas is scheduled for surgery. Which of the following should a nurse administer to the client before surgery?

vita k