A woman is pregnant and has asthma. Her physician has told her to continue taking prednisone during pregnancy, but she is concerned the drug may be teratogenic. What advice would be best to give her regarding this? a) Prednisone is a teratogenic drug, but she may need it to control her asthma symptoms.
b) You would recommend she omit the drug during pregnancy.
c) She should half her dose during the first 3 months of pregnancy.
d) Prednisone is considered safe in the doses prescribed by her physician.

You are assessing an 86-year-old postoperative patient who has an unexpressive, stoic demeanor. when you enter the room, the patient is curled into the fetal position and your assessment reveals that his vital signs are elevated and he is diaphoretic. you ask the patient what his pain level is on a 0-to-10 scale that you explained to the patient prior to surgery. the patient indicates a pain level of “three or so.” you review your pain-management orders and find that all medications are ordered prn. how would you treat this patient's pain?