Which condition is the most common cause of lower GI bleeding?

The most common causes of upper GI bleeding include:

The patient’s abdominal X-ray reveals a fusiform infrarenal non-dissecting aortic aneurysm. Which nursing diagnosis would be the highest priority for this patient?

Which assessment finding would be typical for a patient with an abdominal aortic aneurysm?

Results of a diagnostic peritoneal lavage may be falsely negative in a patient with a:

The patient’s BP suddenly drops to 88/60 mmHg and his pulse increases to 130 beats/minute. After administration of 500 mL of Lactated Ringer’s solution, the patient’s BP increases to 100/70 mmHg and his pulse rate decreases to 100 beats/minute. The nurse’s priority at this time would be to:

Lower GI bleeding is characterized by bleeding from:

Which diagnostic test would the nurse anticipate for a patient with lower gastrointestinal bleeding?

In a patient with prolonged bleeding, anemia is a potential complication. The nurse assesses for anemia by noting signs of pallor in the patient’s:

A 38-year-old stockbroker is brought to the ED by a coworker after experiencing an episode of severe weakness after a business luncheon. Although the patient claims to have no medical or surgical history, he admits to taking large amounts of liquid antacids to calm his stomach. He has had several episodes of bloody vomitus within the past 3 to 4 days. The physician diagnoses the patient as having upper GI bleeding. Which nursing intervention would be most helpful in determining the cause of the patient’s bleeding?