While providing oral medications to a patient recovering from a stroke, the nurse notices that the patient coughs repeatedly and has difficulty clearing the throat. What should the nurse do?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

1. This patient needs to be made NPO immediately. A nutritional consult needs to be done in order to determine an alternative means of providing nutrition for this patient, such as enteral or parenteral routes.
2. This patient needs to be made NPO immediately. A nutritional consult needs to be done in order to determine an alternative means of providing nutrition for this patient.
3. A PT consult would be done, but it would be for promoting mobility and preventing muscle atrophy.
4. Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is very common post stroke and is a major risk factor for developing aspiration pneumonia. The nurse should keep the patient NPO and ask for a speech therapy order for a swallowing evaluation.

While Providing Oral Medications to a Patient Recovering from a Stroke