A nurse is planning to provide community education about viral hepatitis. Which of the following should the nurse plan to include in the teaching?

A. This client's symptom of shortness of breath while ambulating indicates possible worsening heart failure, which requires prompt assessment but is not immediately life-threatening.

B. Vomiting coffee-ground emesis suggests upper gastrointestinal bleeding, which could be

indicative of a serious condition such as a gastrointestinal ulcer or tear and requires immediate assessment to determine the cause and initiate appropriate treatment.

C. While urinary retention in a client with benign prostatic hyperplasia requires attention, it is not as urgent as upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

D. Green drainage from the T-tube in a client who had an open cholecystectomy may indicate bile leakage, which requires assessment and intervention, but upper gastrointestinal bleeding takes precedence due to its potential for rapid deterioration.

A. Dependent edema is a sign of fluid overload or right-sided heart failure but is not immediately life-threatening.
B. A pericardial friction rub is a characteristic finding of pericarditis but does not indicate imminent compromise.
C. A paradoxical pulse (pulsus paradoxus) can indicate cardiac tamponade, a life-threatening complication of pericarditis. Prompt recognition and intervention are critical.
D. Substernal chest pain is a common symptom of pericarditis and should be addressed, but it is not as immediately dangerous as signs of cardiac tamponade.