A client with chronic kidney disease is admitted to the hospital with severe infection and anemia. The client reports feeling depressed and irritable. The client's spouse asks the nurse about the anticipated plan of care. Which response would the nurse provide?

A client with chronic kidney disease is admitted to the hospital with severe infection and anemia. The client reports feeling depressed and irritable. The client's spouse asks the nurse about the anticipated plan of care. Which response would the nurse provide?

• A. The staff will provide total care, because the infection causes severe fatigue.
• B. Mood elevators will be prescribed to improve the depression and irritability.
• C. Vitamin B12 will be prescribed for the anemia, and the stools will be dark.
• D. Protein foods will be restricted so the kidneys can clear the waste products.

Answer: (D)

Managing kidney disease involves dietary strategies to reduce the kidneys’ workload. In chronic kidney disease, the body produces waste products from protein breakdown, and the damaged kidneys can’t clear them efficiently. Limiting protein intake helps lower the amount of nitrogenous waste the kidneys must excrete, which supports overall kidney function and helps the patient handle stress from infection. Explaining this plan to the spouse directly addresses what the care will focus on and why dietary choices matter for kidney protection and recovery during illness. The other options don’t fit the situation as well. Mood elevators aren’t automatically used just because a patient is depressed and irritable during hospitalization; while mental health is important, the plan of care would emphasize medical and dietary management of CKD and supportive care. The idea that vitamin B12 would treat the anemia and that stools would be dark isn’t accurate here—anemia in CKD is typically due to reduced erythropoietin, not B12 deficiency, and dark stools are commonly linked to iron supplementation, not B12.

Managing kidney disease involves dietary strategies to reduce the kidneys’ workload. In chronic kidney disease, the body produces waste products from protein breakdown, and the damaged kidneys can’t clear them efficiently. Limiting protein intake helps lower the amount of nitrogenous waste the kidneys must excrete, which supports overall kidney function and helps the patient handle stress from infection. Explaining this plan to the spouse directly addresses what the care will focus on and why dietary choices matter for kidney protection and recovery during illness.

The other options don’t fit the situation as well. Mood elevators aren’t automatically used just because a patient is depressed and irritable during hospitalization; while mental health is important, the plan of care would emphasize medical and dietary management of CKD and supportive care. The idea that vitamin B12 would treat the anemia and that stools would be dark isn’t accurate here—anemia in CKD is typically due to reduced erythropoietin, not B12 deficiency, and dark stools are commonly linked to iron supplementation, not B12.