A nurse is caring for a child who has terminal cancer.

Which of the following responses by the child's siblings should the nurse expect?

When administering a tap water enema, the client should be assisted to a right Sims position. This position involves lying on the left side with the right knee bent toward the chest.

The other options are not correct because:

a) The client should not bear down during rectal tube insertion.

b) Administering a second enema if results are not clear is not mentioned as a safety precaution.

d) The rectal tube should be inserted in the direction of the sacrum, not the umbilicus.

Answer: (C) The client is not grimacing

Rationale:

A) The client's blood pressure has been reduced:

While morphine can lower blood pressure due to its vasodilatory effects, a reduction in blood pressure is not necessarily a primary indicator of a therapeutic response to pain relief. It is more important to assess pain relief directly through the client's subjective experience and behavior rather than focusing on vital signs alone.

B) The client exhibits diaphoresis:

Diaphoresis, or sweating, can occur as a side effect of morphine administration but does not indicate that the medication is effectively relieving pain. In fact, diaphoresis might signal an adverse reaction or discomfort rather than a therapeutic effect.

C) The client is not grimacing:

The absence of grimacing suggests that the client's pain has decreased, which is a direct indicator of a therapeutic response to morphine. Observing a reduction in pain-related behaviors, such as grimacing, is a key assessment for determining the effectiveness of pain management in postoperative clients.

D) The client has an elevated heart rate:

An elevated heart rate may be a sign of unresolved pain or a side effect of morphine but is not a clear indicator of pain relief. Effective pain management with morphine typically results in a decrease in sympathetic nervous system responses, such as a high heart rate, rather than an increase.