A nurse in the intensive care unit is planning care for a client who has a closed head injury. The client's intracranial pressure (ICP) is being monitored via an intraventricular catheter. Which of the following actions should the nurse include in the plan of care?

Rationale:

A. "The care team will discuss how to change the DNR prescription.": While discussions about code status may occur, the care team cannot override the client’s documented wishes. Focusing on changing the DNR for the family disregards the ethical and legal principle of patient autonomy.

B. "I will ask the client's provider to change the prescription.": The provider cannot unilaterally change a DNR order without the client’s consent. Doing so would violate the client’s legal rights and established advance directive.

C. "A family member can change a DNR prescription once it has been signed.": Only the client has the authority to modify or revoke a DNR unless the client is incapacitated and has legally designated a healthcare proxy. Family members do not have the right to override the client’s documented wishes arbitrarily.

D. "These are the client's wishes, and we must respect them.": The nurse’s response acknowledges the ethical and legal obligation to honor the client’s autonomy. DNR orders reflect the client’s informed decisions about life-sustaining treatments, which must be respected even if family members disagree.

Rationale for Correct Choices

• Endometritis: This uterine infection is common after cesarean delivery, especially with prolonged rupture of membranes. The client’s uterine tenderness, elevated fundus, boggy consistency, and foul-smelling lochia are hallmark signs of endometritis, making it the most likely diagnosis.
• Uterus and lochia: The presence of a tender uterus that is elevated above the umbilicus and only firms with massage, combined with dark, malodorous lochia, strongly suggests infection of the uterine lining. These findings point specifically to endometritis rather than general postpartum changes.

Rationale for Incorrect Choices

• Mastitis: Although the client reports heavy, warm breasts with nipple discomfort, there is no breast erythema, localized swelling, or high-grade fever typical of mastitis. These symptoms are likely due to engorgement related to lactation rather than infection.
• Pneumonia: The client’s respiratory assessment shows clear lungs with only slight basal changes common postoperatively. There are no signs of cough, sputum production, hypoxia, or respiratory distress, which makes pneumonia an unlikely cause of her symptoms.
• Fever: A temperature of 38.2°C is above normal, but mild postpartum fever can have various causes, including engorgement, dehydration, or early infection. Fever alone is not specific enough to confirm a diagnosis without targeted findings.
• WBC count: Although an elevated WBC of 33,000/mm³ raises concern, postpartum leukocytosis can be physiologic or related to many infections. It is not diagnostic of endometritis without more specific correlating signs like uterine tenderness and abnormal lochia.