A nurse is caring for a client who is receiving furosemide to treat heart failure. Which of the following laboratory values should the nurse monitor for this client?

a. Determine the patency of the tubing: The first action should be to assess for any obstruction or kinks in the tubing. A blockage may be preventing the flow of urine.

b. Notify the provider: While notifying the provider may be necessary, assessing the tubing for patency is a more immediate action.

c. Offer oral fluids: While hydration is important, the priority is to ensure that the urinary catheter is functioning properly.

d. Administer a prescribed analgesic: Pain management is important postoperatively, but the

immediate concern is the lack of urinary output, which requires assessment and intervention to rule out catheter obstruction.

b. Paralytic ileus: Absence of bowel sounds, abdominal distention, and no passage of flatus are characteristic signs of paralytic ileus, which is a temporary impairment of bowel motility following surgery.

c. Health care-associated Clostridium difficile: Clostridium difficile infection is associated with diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. The absence of bowel sounds and abdominal distention is not consistent with C. difficile infection.

d. Fecal impaction: Fecal impaction is characterized by a blockage of hardened stool in the

rectum or colon, leading to difficulty passing stool. It may cause abdominal discomfort, but it does not typically present with the absence of bowel sounds and abdominal distention seen in paralytic ileus.