A patient with a fractured elbow in the emergency department states that he needs morphine for pain rather than codeine because the last time he had a painfulinjury,codeine was not effective in managing his pain. What is the nurse's best response or action?
A)Ask the patient how much alcohol he ingests daily.
B)Communicate this information to the admitting physician.
C)Alert the health-care provider that this patient is "drug-seeking."
D)Reassure the patient that he will receive progressively higher dosages of codeine until his pain is controlled.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A significant number of people have low or absent levels of the enzyme that converts the prodrug codeine to the active compound morphine at the cellular level. These people have no pain relief from any dose, even high doses, of codeine but do achieve pain control with usual dosages of morphine. In the past, such individuals have been labeled drug-seekers. Although individuals who consume large amounts of alcohol often metabolize opioids very quickly and need higher dosages for pain control, this factor affects both codeine and morphine and is not selective just for codeine.

A Patient with a Fractured Elbow in the Emergency Department