After surgery for a ruptured appendix, a 12-year-old child is receiving morphine for pain control by way of a patient-controlled
analgesia (PCA) infusion. A bolus of morphine can be delivered every 6 minutes. A parent will be staying with the child during the immediate postoperative period. What statement indicates to the nurse that the instructions about the PCA pump have been understood?
The best answer to the question: What statemenet indicates to the nurse that the instructions about the PCA pump have been understood? Would be: "My child needs to push the button of the pump whenever she needs the pain medication."
Explanation:
Morphine is a pretty strong analgesic, the stronges there is short of sedation, and it can become adictive. Although in this case the PCA has been programmed to be capable of delivering a bolus of morphine every 6 minutes to the child, what is important is to teach both parents and child that this medication should only be used when truly necessary, and not at a regular interval, when it is not necessary. This is not an antibiotic, which requires regular administration. Rather, the purpose is for the patient and her parent to understand that it is important to use it only when it becomes absolutely necessary. The parent saying that the button should be used only when pain requires the medicatio, indicates that at least he/she has understood the importance of not using the medication all the time.
