An elderly cancer patient is admitted to the emergency department reporting nausea and vomiting several times prior to admission. The client's heart rate is 45 beats per minute. The nurse should be most concerned about which medication that the client is taking?

Explanation

•A heart rate of 45 is a potentially serious effect which can be caused by digoxin levels building up, especially in older adults whose kidneys are not functioning normally and may not properly excrete the drug.

•The reference range for digoxin is 0.8-2 ng/mL (1.2-2 nmol/L). Anything over 2 is toxic.

•The other drugs do not cause bradycardia as a side effect.

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