A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who has a new prescription for epinephrine auto-injector PRN. The nurse should reinforce with the client that the medication can help treat which of the following manifestations?
Explanation & Rationale
Choice A reason: Hand tremors are not a primary symptom of anaphylaxis, which epinephrine treats. Tremors may occur from anxiety or other conditions, but epinephrine’s beta-adrenergic effects target airway dilation and vasoconstriction, not neurologic stabilization, making this unrelated to its acute therapeutic purpose.Choice B reason: Shortness of breath, common in anaphylaxis, results from bronchoconstriction and airway swelling. Epinephrine acts on beta-2 receptors to relax bronchial smooth muscle, reversing dyspnea. This aligns with its primary use in allergic reactions, restoring oxygenation by counteracting histamine-induced distress.Choice C reason: Nausea may accompany anaphylaxis due to systemic histamine release, but epinephrine does not directly treat it. Its focus is on reversing airway and vascular collapse, not gastrointestinal symptoms, which are secondary, making this an incidental, not primary, target of action.Choice D reason: Hyperglycemia is not an anaphylactic symptom; epinephrine may raise blood sugar as a side effect via glycogenolysis, but this is irrelevant to its emergency use. It targets airway obstruction, not metabolic states, making this a misaligned choice for its therapeutic intent.