Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 63%
Full-length
A client with chronic renal failure has a serum potassium level of 6.8 mEq/L. What should the nurse assess first?
Correct answer
D
Rationale
The nurse should assess the client's cardiac rhythm using electrocardiography because an elevated serum potassium level may lead to a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia. The client's blood pressure may change, but only as a result of the arrhythmia. Therefore, the nurse should assess blood pressure later. The nurse also can delay assessing respirations and temperature because these aren't affected by the serum potassium level.