The nurse is caring for a client with a history of depression who is prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Which side effect should the nurse monitor for?

Choice A reason: Administering aspirin is appropriate for ischemic stroke but premature without confirming stroke type. Hemorrhagic stroke contraindicates aspirin. A head CT scan distinguishes ischemic from hemorrhagic stroke, guiding treatment, making it the priority to ensure safe intervention.

Choice B reason: Obtaining a head CT scan is the priority, as it differentiates ischemic from hemorrhagic stroke, critical for guiding treatment like thrombolytics or anticoagulation. Rapid imaging within the therapeutic window ensures timely intervention, minimizing brain damage, making it the essential first step.

Choice C reason: Monitoring blood glucose is important, as hyperglycemia worsens stroke outcomes, but it is secondary to confirming stroke type. A head CT scan provides diagnostic clarity, guiding urgent therapy, making imaging the priority over metabolic assessments in suspected stroke.

Choice D reason: Elevating the head of the bed reduces intracranial pressure but is not the first step. A head CT scan confirms stroke type, ensuring appropriate interventions like thrombolytics for ischemic stroke, making imaging critical to guide management and prevent further brain injury.

Choice A reason: A numeric pain scale quantifies pain intensity but not its quality, such as burning or stabbing. Descriptive data provide a fuller picture of pain characteristics, which guide treatment. Numbers alone lack the detail needed to assess the nature of the pain experience.

Choice B reason: Observing body language and movement, like grimacing or guarding, indicates pain presence but not its specific quality. Subjective descriptions from the client reveal characteristics like sharpness or throbbing, which are critical for diagnosis and management, making observation secondary to verbal reports.

Choice C reason: Asking the client to describe the pain captures its quality, including type, location, and pattern (e.g., burning, stabbing). This subjective data is essential for diagnosing the pain’s cause and tailoring treatment, as it provides detailed insights beyond intensity or observable signs, making it the best approach.

Choice D reason: Identifying effective pain relief measures is part of pain management, not assessment of pain quality. Understanding the pain’s characteristics through description is necessary before selecting interventions. This approach is premature without first gathering detailed subjective data from the client.