Are complex care patients the same as complex patients? The insertion of the word care may make a difference: You decide.

Complex Care case study

Jenny is a 37-year-old female who has been admitted to the ward for a cholecystectomy.  On her return to recovery, Jenny is still to be in pain, and she further gets a prescription of Morphine 2.5 – 5 mg Intravenously (IV) on the PRN side of her medication chart. She was given an initial dose of 5mg IV.

3 minutes after having the administration of the morphine, Jenny begins feeling really unwell and is short of breath. She also states she feels itchy and feels like her tongue is swelling. She suddenly has a rash over her chest and upper back. The doctor attends and verbally requests administering of ‘point 5 of adrenaline’ to the patient. The RN on duty gives 5mL of adrenaline 1:10,000 IV.
The patient suddenly complains of severe, crushing chest pain before losing consciousness and suffering a cardiac arrest. They resuscitate the patient and she survives the event. However, she will have cardiac issues for the remainder of her life.

Questions related to the case study

Question 1 – Looking at this case study, which of the mistakes could have been prevented and why? (3 Marks)
Name each mistake and evidence using current literature how it could have been prevented. Reference
your work.
Question 2 – Was the doctor’s request for ‘point 5 of adrenaline’ a valid request? (2 marks)
Argue your decision and refer to legislation
Question 3 – Was the nurse at fault for giving the adrenaline through the IV route? (3 Marks)
Argue your decision and refer to legislation
Question 4 – Describe the most likely cause of Jenny’s cardiac arrest? (2 Marks)
How did you come to this conclusion? support your argument with literature

Additional Files