NCLEX questions Lab Values Galen College Of Nursing Question and answers 100% correct 2024

NCLEX questions Lab Values Galen College Of Nursing Question and answers 100% correct 2024 A client with atrial fibrillation who is receiving maintenance therapy of warfarin sodium (Coumadin) has a prothrombin time (PT) of 35 seconds. On the basis of the PT, the nurse anticipates which prescription? 1. Adding a dose of heparin sodium 2. Holding the next dose of warfarin 3. Increasing the next dose of warfarin 4. Administering the next dose of warfarin - correct answer 2. Rationale- The normal PT is 9.6 to 11.8 seconds (male adult) or 9.5 to 11.3 seconds (female adult). A therapeutic PT level is 1.5 to 2 times higher than the normal level. Because the value of 35 seconds is high ( and perhaps near the critical range), the nurse should anticipate that the client would not receive further doses at this time. Therefore the prescription noted in the remaining options are incorrect. The nurse checks the laboratory result for a serum digoxin level that was prescribed for a client earlier in the day and notes that the result is 2.4 ng/mL. The nurse should take which immediate action? 1. Check the client's last pulse rate 2. Notify the health care provider 3. Record the normal value on the client's flow sheet 4. Administer the next dose of the medication as scheduled - correct answer 2.Rationale- The normal therapeutic range for digoxin is 0.5 to 2 ng/mL. A level of 2.4 ng/mL exceeds the therapeutic range and indicates toxicity. The nurse should notify the HCP, who may give further prescriptions about holding further doses of digoxin. The option that indicates to record the normal value on the client's flow sheet is incorrect because the level is not normal. The next dose should not be administered because the serum digoxin level exceeds the therapeutic range. Checking the client's last pulse rate may have limited value in this situation. Depending on the time that has elapsed since the last assessment, a cu