Mr. G has been undergoing palliative chemotherapy for his bladder cancer, using gemcitabine (Gemzar). He developed a deep vein thrombosis; it was discovered about 10 weeks ago, and he is currently on anticoagulant therapy with warfarin. His INR lab is pending. He was in just last week for a urinary tract infection where he was started on quinolone (Cipro) and then switched to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim) when his urine culture specificity report highlighted this antibiotic to be most effective against his culture organism.
He is not allergic to sulfa but is allergic to penicillin, so the triage staff called the patient to inform him of the antibiotic change, and he complied.
Now, four days later, he is having irregular heart rhythm, and the EKG taken today shows he is in atrial fibrillation.
Today’s vital signs:
Temperature: 97.6 degrees
Pulse: 140 bpm
Respiration: 18 bpm
Blood pressure: 126/68
O2 Sat: 100%
ECOG Score: 1
Labs results:
WBC 8.9
ANC 6.4
Hgb 11.7
Hct 34.1
Plt 165,000
PT 48.2 seconds
INR 4.0
An assessment does support the tachycardic rate, and unfortunately the rhythm is still irregular. The rest of the assessment is negative.
The 2013 Nurse Compensation Survey Results Are In Michelle Bragazzi, BS, RN, 5/3/2013 32 In February, TheONC surveyed more than 600 oncology nurses to find out more about their careers. We wanted to know if they felt adequately compensated and satisfied within their ...
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