A nurse is caring for a client who is in the emergency department with multiple traumatic injuries following a motor-vehicle crash. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

Choice A reason: Advising over-the-counter medications as safe is incorrect, as many, like NSAIDs, increase warfarin’s bleeding risk by inhibiting platelets or affecting liver metabolism. Warfarin’s narrow therapeutic index requires careful management to prevent hemorrhage, making broad safety claims dangerous without specific evaluation.
Choice B reason: Consulting the pharmacist identifies interactions with warfarin, a vitamin K antagonist metabolized by CYP450 enzymes. Many drugs alter warfarin’s efficacy, risking thrombosis or bleeding. Pharmacist expertise ensures safe polypharmacy, maintaining therapeutic INR levels critical for managing pulmonary emboli effectively.
Choice C reason: Recommending warfarin with other medications ignores interaction risks and timing needs. Warfarin’s absorption is unaffected by timing, but CYP450 interactions can alter INR. This advice is irrelevant to safety, missing the need for individualized regimen assessment to prevent complications in anticoagulation therapy.
Choice D reason: Cranberry juice may enhance warfarin’s effect by inhibiting CYP2C9, increasing INR and bleeding risk. Advising its use without monitoring is unsafe, as dietary factors can destabilize anticoagulation, potentially causing hemorrhage in clients with pulmonary emboli, requiring careful dietary guidance.

Choice A reason: Assuring the client about future pregnancies dismisses her current emotional loss, potentially invalidating grief. Stillbirth triggers complex hormonal and psychological responses, including postpartum depression risk. This approach fails to address immediate emotional needs, hindering the grieving process and emotional recovery in perinatal loss.
Choice B reason: Avoiding discussion of the newborn ignores the client’s need to process her loss. Acknowledging the baby’s existence is critical for healthy mourning, as psychological research shows verbalizing grief aids emotional integration. Silence may suppress coping, prolonging unresolved grief and complicating psychological adjustment post-stillbirth.
Choice C reason: Discouraging friends from seeing the newborn dismisses the client’s need for social support. Communal acknowledgment of loss mitigates isolation, a key factor in grief recovery. This action disrupts psychological coping by limiting social validation, potentially exacerbating feelings of loneliness and hindering emotional healing after stillbirth.
Choice D reason: Offering to take pictures acknowledges the baby’s significance, aiding the client’s grieving process. Photographs serve as tangible memories, supported by psychological research as therapeutic in perinatal loss. This intervention fosters emotional closure, validates the loss, and supports healthy mourning, aligning with compassionate care principles.