To identify an adverse reaction to sulfasalazine, a nurse should monitor skin integrity, temperature, urine output, and complete blood count (CBC). These indicators can help detect allergic reactions, infections, kidney issues, or blood disorders that could be caused by the medication.
When a nurse is administering sulfasalazine to a client, they need to monitor for adverse drug reactions. The relevant data they should collect include:
- Skin integrity - to check for any rashes or allergic reactions.
- Temperature - to monitor for fevers which could indicate an infection or hypersensitivity.
- CBC (Complete Blood Count) - to detect any hematological changes such as leukopenia or thrombocytopenia that sulfasalazine can cause.
While level of consciousness is important, it is not typically affected by sulfasalazine. Urine output is important for assessing kidney function, and sulfasalazine can cause crystalluria or an orange-yellow discoloration of the urine, so it is also pertinent to monitor.
Therefore, the nurse should collect data on B. Skin integrity, C. Temperature, D. Urine output, and E. CBC to help identify any adverse reactions to sulfasalazine.