Jenny is a 37 year old female who has been admitted to the ward for a cholecystectomy.
On her return to recovery, Jenny is noted to be in pain, and she was prescribed Morphine 2.5 – 5 mg Intravenously (IV) on the PRN side of her medication chart. She was given an initial dose of 5mg IV.
3 minutes after having the morphine administered, Jenny starts to feel unwell and is short of breath, she also states she feels itchy and feels like her tongue is swelling. She is noted to have a rash that has suddenly appeared over her chest and upper back. The doctor attends and verbally requests ‘point 5 of adrenaline’ to be given. The RN on duty gives 5mL of adrenaline 1:10,000 IV.
The patient suddenly complains of severe, crushing chest pain before losing consciousness and suffering a cardiac arrest. The patient is resuscitated and survives the event, however will have cardiac issues for the remainder of her life.
Question 1 – (3 Marks) Looking at this case study, which of the mistakes could have been prevented and why?
(Name each mistake and evidence using current literature how it could have been prevented. Reference your work.)
Question 2 – (3 Marks) Was the nurse at fault for giving the adrenaline through the IV route?
(Argue your decision and refer to legislation)
Question 3 – (2 Marks) Describe the most likely cause of Jenny’s cardiac arrest?
(How did you come to this conclusion? support your argument with literature)
