Editing Reduction of Risk Potential (section)

== Prioritization Framework ==

When a question presents several clients or several findings, work through a consistent sequence:

# '''Airway, breathing, circulation''', then disability and neurologic change.
# '''Acute over chronic''', '''unstable over stable''', and '''unexpected over expected'''. A finding consistent with the client's known diagnosis is lower priority than a new or unexplained one.
# '''Actual problems over potential risks''' when both are present and equally urgent.
# When two clients are unstable, choose the one whose problem will kill them soonest without intervention.

Findings that generally require immediate provider notification include a sudden change in level of consciousness, new respiratory distress or falling oxygen saturation, chest pain, a new neurologic deficit, absent or markedly diminished distal pulse, urine output below roughly 30 mL per hour, active or expanding bleeding, a temperature spike in a neutropenic or postoperative client, a critical laboratory value, and any suspected transfusion reaction (Ignatavicius et al., 2021; Potter et al., 2023).