After a child comes to the emergency room with aspirin overdose, which of the following priority actions should the nurse take?

Explanation

• Aspirin is a poison frequently ingested by children. It causes hyperventilations, which leads first to respiratory alkalosis and then to metabolic acidosis and hypokalemia. The kidneys compensate by excreting bicarbonate and potassium in the urine.

• The immediate treatment is to remove the drug from the child’s stomach by inducing vomiting, using gastric lavage, or by administering activated charcoal.

Incorrect options:

• Administering an antacid and obtaining a urine specimen are not necessary.

• Osmotic laxatives are not used because aspirin is eliminated through the urine.

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