Saunders | Intravenous Therapy

The nurse is completing a time tape for a 1000-mL IV bag that is scheduled to infuse over 8 hours. The nurse has just placed the 11:00 AM marking at the 500-mL level. The nurse would place the mark for noon at which numerical level (mL) on the time tape? Fill in the blank. Answer: ______ mL

375 (minus 125)

A client rings the call bell and complains of pain at the site of an intravenous (IV) infusion. The nurse assesses the site and determines that phlebitis has developed. The nurse should take which action(s) in the care of this client? Select all that apply. 1. Notify the health care provider (HCP). 2. Remove the IV catheter at that site. 3. Apply warm moist packs to the site. 4. Start a new IV line in a proximal portion of the same vein. 5. Document the occurrence, actions taken, and the client's response.

1. Notify the health care provider (HCP). 2. Remove the IV catheter at that site. 3. Apply warm moist packs to the site. 5. Document the occurrence, actions taken, and the client's response. The nurse should remove the IV at the phlebitic site and apply warm moist compresses to the area to speed resolution of the inflammation. Because phlebitis has occurred, the nurse also notifies the HCP about the IV complication. The nurse should *restart the IV in a vein other than the one that has developed phlebitis*. Finally, the nurse documents the occurrence, actions taken, and the client's response.

The nurse has a prescription to hang a 1000-mL intravenous (IV) bag of 5% dextrose in water with 20 mEq of potassium chloride and needs to add the medication to the IV bag. The nurse should plan to take which action immediately after injecting the potassium chloride into the port of the IV bag? 1. Rotate the bag gently. 2. Attach the tubing to the client. 3. Prime the tubing with the IV solution. 4. Check the solution for yellowish discoloration.

1. Rotate the bag gently. After adding a medication to a bag of IV solution, the nurse should agitate or rotate the bag gently to mix the medication evenly in the solution. The nurse should then attach a completed medication label. The nurse can then prime the tubing. The IV solution should have been checked for discoloration before the medication was added to the solution. The tubing is attached to the client last.

A client had a 1000-mL bag of 5% dextrose in 0.9% sodium chloride hung at 3 PM. The nurse making rounds at 3:45 PM finds that the client is complaining of a pounding headache and is dyspneic, is experiencing chills, and is apprehensive, with an increased pulse rate. The intravenous (IV) bag has 400 mL remaining. The nurse should take which action first? 1. Slow the IV infusion. 2. Sit the client up in bed. 3. Remove the IV catheter. 4. Call the health care provider (HCP).

1. Slow the IV infusion. The client's symptoms are compatible with circulatory overload. This may be verified by noting that 600 mL has infused in the course of 45 minutes. The first action of the nurse is to slow the infusion. Other actions may follow in rapid sequence. The nurse may elevate the head of the bed to aid the client's breathing, if necessary. The nurse also notifies the HCP. The IV catheter is not removed; it may be needed for the administration of medications to resolve the complication.

The nurse is preparing a continuous intravenous (IV) infusion at the medication cart. As the nurse goes to insert the spike end of the IV tubing into the IV bag, the tubing drops and the spike end hits the top of the medication cart. The nurse should take which action? 1. Obtain a new IV bag. 2. Obtain new IV tubing. 3. Wipe the spike end of the tubing with Betadine. 4. Scrub the spike end of the tubing with an alcohol swab.

2. Obtain new IV tubing. The nurse should obtain new IV tubing because contamination has occurred and could cause systemic infection to the client. Wiping with Betadine or alcohol is insufficient and is contraindicated because the spike will be inserted into the IV bag.

A client with the recent diagnosis of myocardial infarction and impaired renal function is recuperating on the step-down cardiac unit. The client's blood pressure has been borderline low and intravenous (IV) fluids have been infusing at 100 mL/hour via a central line catheter in the right internal jugular for approximately 24 hours to increase renal output and maintain the blood pressure. Upon entering the client's room, the nurse notes that the client is breathing rapidly and is coughing. The nurse determines that the client is most likely experiencing which complication of IV therapy? 1. Hematoma 2. Air embolism 3. Systemic infection 4. Circulatory overload

4. Circulatory overload Circulatory (fluid) overload is a complication of intravenous therapy. Signs include rapid breathing, dyspnea, a moist cough, and crackles. When circulatory overload is present, the client's blood pressure also increases. Hematoma is characterized by ecchymosis, swelling, and leakage at the IV insertion site, as well as hard and painful lumps at the site. Air embolism is characterized by tachycardia, dyspnea, hypotension, cyanosis, and decreased level of consciousness. Systemic infection is characterized by chills, fever, malaise, headache, nausea, vomiting, backache, and tachycardia.

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