A nurse is assisting with the care of a client who is pregnant

The nurse is reviewing the client's medical record.

Select 4 findings that the nurse should identify as a potential prenatal complication.

A. Hypertension: Clients experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) are more likely to present with hypotension rather than hypertension due to dehydration caused by osmotic diuresis. Volume depletion significantly lowers blood pressure rather than raising it in the setting of DKA.

B. Fruity breath odor: A fruity or acetone-like breath odor is a hallmark sign of DKA. It results from the accumulation of ketones, particularly acetone, in the blood, which the body attempts to eliminate through the lungs, giving the breath its characteristic sweet or fruity smell.

C. Protruding eyeballs: Protruding eyeballs, or exophthalmos, are associated with hyperthyroidism, particularly Graves' disease, not with diabetic ketoacidosis. DKA affects metabolic and acid-base balance but does not cause changes to eye appearance or positioning.

D. Decreased urinary output: In the early stages of DKA, clients usually experience increased urinary output (polyuria) due to osmotic diuresis from hyperglycemia. Decreased output may occur only in the later stages when severe dehydration and kidney compromise develop, but it is not an early expected finding.

A. Inability to read: Difficulty reading is not a hallmark symptom of delirium. It may be associated with visual impairment, literacy issues, or chronic cognitive decline such as dementia, but delirium is primarily characterized by acute mental status changes, not isolated reading difficulties.

B. Echopraxia: Echopraxia, the involuntary imitation of another person’s movements, is typically associated with schizophrenia or other severe psychiatric disorders. It is not a defining feature of delirium, which primarily affects attention, awareness, and cognition rather than imitation behaviors.

C. Acute onset of confusion: Delirium is distinguished by a sudden, acute onset of confusion and fluctuating levels of consciousness. Clients may exhibit disorganized thinking, poor attention, and impaired awareness, which are hallmark features that help differentiate delirium from chronic conditions like dementia.

D. Aphasia: Aphasia, or loss of the ability to understand or express speech, is more commonly related to neurological injuries such as stroke. While speech may be disorganized during delirium, the specific loss of language function like aphasia is not a primary or expected feature of this acute condition.