Michelle is a post-operative patient who had a subtotal gastrectomy. After 72 hours, she complained of abdominal pain that she described as severe with a pain scale of 8 to 9. The assigned nurse did an abdominal palpation and noted that it is rigid. The nurse should initially:

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The nurse should initially obtain the patient's vital signs. Severe pain and abdominal rigidity are signs that the patient is bleeding from the suture line or they can be signs of peritonitis. Obtaining the vital signs will provide supporting data. If there's no rigidity, then the patient can be instructed to ambulate with care. Giving an analgesic can hide the symptoms, leading to a delayed diagnosis.

Michelle Is a Post-Operative Patient Who Had a Subtotal Gastrectomy