Med Surg Ch 57 Coordinating Care For Patients With Stomach Disorders Study Guide Graded A+

The nurse is caring for a 33-year-old woman who has been taking aspirin for back pain and has experienced a sudden episode of tachycardia and feeling faint. She also vomited coffee-ground emesis and passed a tarry stool but has no complaints of pain or heartburn. The patient wants to know why there was no sign of pain as a warning signal prior to the sudden bleeding. What is the nurse's best response? A. Pain is the most common sign of NSAID-induced gastric injury, so the patient must have a high pain tolerance. B. NSAIDs cause damage to epithelial cells, which inhibit the enteric nervous system response of the GI tract. C. NSAID-induced gastric injury often is without symptoms, and life-threatening complications such as GI bleeding can occur without warning. D. NSAIDs have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, preventing the patient from feeling any pain as a warning sign. {Ans: Answer: C Rationale: Serious adverse GI effects (e.g., bleeding, ulceration, perforation) can occur at any time in pa- tients receiving NSAID therapy, and such effects may not be preceded by warning signs or symptoms. Only one in five patients who develop a serious upper GI ad- verse event while receiving NSAID