Final answer:
The nurse should report a decreased blood pressure immediately to the surgeon after a client's bowel resection for colorectal cancer, as it could indicate a serious and life-threatening complication like internal bleeding.
Step-by-step explanation:
A client who had a bowel resection yesterday for colorectal cancer has several potential postoperative complications that a nurse should monitor. Among the assessment findings, a decreased blood pressure would be considered critical and should be reported immediately to the surgeon as it could be indicative of internal bleeding, a common and serious complication following surgery. This contrasts an increased urinary output, which might actually be a sign of good renal function, or an elevated body temperature, which might suggest an infection but is not as immediately life-threatening as hemorrhage. Improved bowel sounds would be a positive finding, indicating the restoration of bowel function.
After a bowel resection, the bodies regulatory mechanisms such as aldosterone secretion and compensatory responses to maintain blood volume and blood pressure become crucial. For example, decreased blood pressure prompts the release of renin from the kidneys, which leads to increased aldosterone secretion which then promotes the kidneys to reabsorb sodium and water to increase the blood volume. On the contrary, increased blood pressure would lead to decreased renin and aldosterone release.