Question

A patient has been successfully treated for kidney stones and is preparing for discharge. The nurse recognizes the risk of recurrence and has planned the patient's discharge education accordingly. What preventative measure should the nurse encourage the patient to adopt?

A) Increasing intake of protein from plant sources
B) Increasing fluid intake
C) Adopting a high-calcium diet
D) Eating several small meals each day

Answer 1

To prevent kidney stones, increase fluid intake to 2-2.5L of urine daily and make dietary changes such as less protein and oxalate-rich foods, while maintaining adequate calcium intake.

Step-by-step explanation:

To prevent the recurrence of kidney stones, nurses should encourage patients to adopt healthy lifestyle changes post-discharge. A key preventive measure is increasing fluid intake to ensure the production of 2 to 2.5 liters of urine per day, which helps to flush out materials that could form stones. Dietary modifications are also important, such as reducing protein, nitrogen, and sodium intake, as well as restricting foods high in oxalate like chocolate, nuts, and spinach. It is also essential to maintain an adequate intake of dietary calcium to bind ingested oxalate in the gastrointestinal tract and prevent its excretion in the urine, which can contribute to stone formation.