The patient's nasogastric (NG)tube drains approximately 400 mL/day of yellow-green drainage.When the patient begins to complain of nausea,which intervention should the nurse implement first?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The nurse should assess NG tube patency and drainage from the last few hours to gather additional information about the patient's nausea.If the NG tube drains 400 mL/day,it should drain 15 to 20 mL/hr; thus the nurse can observe for drainage.The nurse also assesses for bowel sounds and abdominal distention because the absence of bowel sounds with abdominal distention indicates impaired peristalsis.The nurse irrigates the NG tube after confirming its placement.Tube irrigation helps to prevent accumulated debris that increases the risk of tube occlusion.The nurse avoids relieving the patient's problem with a larger-gauge NG tube; he or she inserts a properly sized tube in the patient.Raising the head of the bed is a reasonable response to help facilitate gastric emptying; however,because the patient has an NG tube,the nurse should verify tube placement first to avoid potential aspiration of gastric contents.

The Patient's Nasogastric (NG)tube Drains Approximately 400 ML/day of Yellow-Green