A patient has been admitted to the hospital with exacerbation of heart failure (hf) that has resulted in pulmonary and peripheral edema. the nurse has been carefully monitoring the trajectory of the patient's signs and symptoms of hf. how can the nurse best monitor the patient's fluid balance?

Question

Biology

Brodie Choi

27 July, 13:10

A patient has been admitted to the hospital with exacerbation of heart failure (hf) that has resulted in pulmonary and peripheral edema. the nurse has been carefully monitoring the trajectory of the patient's signs and symptoms of hf. how can the nurse best monitor the patient's fluid balance?

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Porter Fry · Answer 1

The correct answer is by "performing daily weights at the same time each day".

If the nurse measures only the patient's oral fluid intake it will not be a sufficient fluid balance estimation, since she will need to measure also the fluid output.

By assessing the skin's turgor, the nurse will estimate the dehydration or fluid loss, but this measurement is not as accurate as measuring the weight of the patient every day.

In addition, a measurement of the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels will show whether the patient has normal and healthy kidney function.

From all these measurements, a daily measurement of the weight is the most accurate way to assess the fluid balance.