Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 14e (Hinkle 2017) - Assessment of Digestive and Gastrointestinal Function Related

Review Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 14e (Hinkle 2017) - Assessment of Digestive and Gastrointestinal Function related questions and content

An adult patient is scheduled for an upper GI series that will use a barium swallow. What teaching should the nurse include when the patient has completed the test?

  • A. Stool will be yellow for the first 24 hours postprocedure.
  • B. The barium may cause diarrhea for the next 24 hours.
  • C. Fluids must be increased to facilitate the evacuation of the stool.
  • D. Slight anal bleeding may be noted as the barium is passed.
Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Postprocedural patient education includes information about increasing fluid intake; evaluating bowel movements for evacuation of barium; and noting increased number of bowel movements, because barium, due to its high osmolarity, may draw fluid into the bowel, thus increasing the intraluminal contents and resulting in greater output. Yellow stool, diarrhea, and anal bleeding are not expected.