The patient who has a serum magnesium level of 1.4 mg/dL is being treated with dietary modification. Which foods should the nurse suggest for this patient?

The correct answers are Choices B, C, and D.

Choice A rationale: Normal saline is not typically used to treat low phosphate levels. It is often used to treat dehydration and electrolyte imbalances that do not include hypophosphatemia.

Choice B rationale: Potassium phosphate is used to treat low phosphate levels. It directly supplements phosphate levels in the body, making it an appropriate treatment for hypophosphatemia.

Choice C rationale: Additional milk intake can help increase phosphate levels, as milk is a good source of phosphate. This is a suitable recommendation for a patient with low phosphate levels.

Choice D rationale: Increased Vitamin D intake can enhance phosphate absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, making it a beneficial treatment for a patient with low phosphate levels.

Choice B rationale:

The patient's tachycardia, pale, cool skin, and decreased urine output are signs of the body's natural compensatory mechanisms in response to fluid volume deficit. When the body

experiences a decrease in fluid volume, it tries to compensate by increasing heart rate (tachycardia) to maintain blood flow to vital organs and constricting blood vessels to preserve fluid and maintain blood pressure. Pale, cool skin is a result of vasoconstriction, and decreased urine output is a way the body conserves water during dehydration.

Choice A rationale:

Effects of rapidly infused intravenous fluids are not the cause of the patient's current findings. In fact, the nurse's notes indicate that the IV fluid therapy (0.9% sodium chloride) was initiated at 125 mL/hr, which is a relatively standard and cautious rate. Rapidly infused fluids could potentially cause fluid overload, but that is not the situation here.

Choice C rationale:

Pharmacological effects of a diuretic are not relevant to this patient's presentation. There is no mention of diuretic use in the nurse's notes, and the symptoms presented are more consistent with fluid volume deficit and dehydration rather than diuretic use.

Choice D rationale:

Cardiac failure is not the correct answer, as there is no indication of heart failure in the patient's presentation or nurse's notes. The symptoms and findings described are more indicative of fluid volume deficit, which is not synonymous with cardiac failure.