A nurse is making client assignments for the next shift. The nurse should assign which of the following clients to the assistive personnel?

A. Report the blood pressure reading to the charge nurse: While notifying the charge nurse is important, the nurse should first validate the high reading by rechecking the blood pressure. Acting on a single, unverified reading could lead to unnecessary interventions or missed opportunities for accurate assessment.

B. Administer an antihypertensive medication: Administering antihypertensive medication based solely on a report without rechecking the blood pressure could be unsafe. Verification ensures that treatment is based on accurate clinical data and prevents unnecessary medication administration.

C. Remeasure the client's blood pressure: The first action should always be to recheck an unusually high or abnormal vital sign reading to confirm its accuracy. Errors can occur during measurement, and accurate confirmation is critical before proceeding with further interventions in a client with chronic kidney failure.

D. Instruct the client to remain in bed: While keeping the client in bed can help prevent complications if severe hypertension is confirmed, it is not the priority action. Verifying the blood pressure reading must occur first to determine the appropriate course of action.

• Pneumonia: The preschooler is showing signs of shallow breathing, refusal to use the incentive spirometer, and slightly diminished breath sounds in the bilateral lower lobes, all of which increase the risk of developing pneumonia. Postoperative patients, especially young children, are vulnerable to pneumonia due to pain-limited deep breathing and poor pulmonary expansion.
• Wound infection: Although there is some serosanguinous drainage at the incision site, the dressing remains dry overall, and there is no mention of redness, warmth, or purulent discharge typically associated with wound infection. Therefore, wound infection is not the primary concern at this point.
• Ileus: Hypoactive bowel sounds are present, but they have been stable throughout the day without worsening abdominal distension or absence of bowel function. While ileus is a postoperative risk, the more pressing concern given the respiratory findings is pneumonia.
• Shallow breathing: The child consistently shows shallow, unlabored respirations throughout assessments, which indicate limited lung expansion. Without effective use of the incentive spirometer and adequate deep breathing, shallow breathing places the child at high risk for pulmonary complications such as pneumonia.
• Increasing temperature: Although the child's temperature rose slightly by 1600, it remains below 38° C (100.4° F), which is not typically classified as a fever. The minor temperature elevation could be related to inflammation rather than an infectious process at this stage.
• Hypoactive bowel sounds: Hypoactive bowel sounds are expected in the early postoperative period, particularly following abdominal surgery due to the effects of anesthesia and manipulation of the bowel during surgery. While they should be monitored, they are not the primary finding indicating the most urgent complication in this situation.