Medical-Surgical Nursing:Assessment and Managementof Clinical Problems 9th Edition by Sharon Lewis,Shannon Ruff Dirksen,Margaret McLean Heitkemper,Linda Bucher

Exercise 23

A postoperative 68-year-old opioid-naive patient is receiving morphine by patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) for postoperative pain.What is the rationale for not initiating the PCA analgesic with a basal dose of analgesic as well?
A) Opioid overdose
B) Nausea and itching
C) Lack of pain control
D) Adverse respiratory outcomes