Mrs dean is 75-year - old woman admitted to the hospital for a small bowel obstruction. her medical history includes hypertension. mrs dean is npo. she has a nasogastric (ng) tube to low continuous suction. she has an iv of 0.9% ns at 83 ml/hr. current medications include furosemide 20 mg daily and hydrmophone 0.2 mg every 4 hours as needed for pain. the morning electrolytes reveal serum potassium of 3.2 meg/l
what are possible causes of a low potassium level?
what action should the nurse take in relation to the serum potassium level ?
what clinical manifestations might the nurse assess in mrs dean?