A sodium polystyrene sulfonate (kayexalate) drug is ordered for a hyperkalemia patient. Before administering that medication, the nurse should assess the patient's bowel sounds because bowel necrosis can occur.
Although, Bowel necrosis is a late-stage finding of processed many different diseases characterized by cell death due to low blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract (GT).
Therefore, in a hyperkalemia patient, the blood is already infected because its a blood cancer, due to which blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract is very low, and inner inflammation or bowel necrosis can occur if sodium polystyrene sulfonate is given to the patient. Before administering this medication, the nurse should assess the patient's bowel sounds.