The practical nurse (PN) reports to the charge nurse that a client who is receiving a parenteral nutrition infusion has a capillary glucose of 365 mg/dL (20.3 mmol/L). Which action should the charge nurse implement? Reference Range: Blood glucose [70 to 110 mg/dL (3.9 to 6.1 mmol/L)]

The client has severe hyperglycemia, which is a known and common complication of parenteral nutrition due to its high dextrose content. The most immediate and appropriate action is to determine if there is an existing prescription, such as a sliding scale for insulin, to treat this acute high blood sugar. This addresses the urgent problem directly. Stopping the essential nutrition infusion (C) is not the first action and could be harmful. While reviewing the history (A) and assessing for complications like osmotic diuresis (B) are relevant, they do not address the immediate, dangerous elevation in blood glucose as directly as checking for a treatment order.