Final answer:
The appropriate action is to send a stool sample to the lab for a guaiac test to check for occult blood, which can occur due to the increased risk of bleeding after thrombolytic therapy. The correct option is C.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of a client who has received thrombolytic medication following a myocardial infarction (MI), the action that a nurse should implement when the client has a bowel movement is to send a stool sample to the lab for a guaiac test. Thrombolytic agents enhance the degradation of clots and improve the prognosis after events such as a thrombotic stroke, but they increase the risk of bleeding, including gastrointestinal bleeding. Therefore, it's essential to monitor for signs of bleeding. A guaiac test is a specific test that detects occult (hidden) blood in the stool, which could indicate internal bleeding.
When a client who has received thrombolytic medication following a myocardial infarction has a bowel movement, the nurse should assess for fatty yellow streaks in the client's stool. The presence of fatty yellow streaks in the stool indicates steatorrhea, which is the malabsorption of fats due to the impairment of pancreatic enzyme production. Thrombolytic medications can cause pancreatitis, which can result in the impaired production of pancreatic enzymes and, subsequently, the presence of fatty yellow streaks in the stool.