Progressive Care Nursing Certification (PCCN) Practice Exam

A patient is receiving a morphine drip and becomes poorly responsive with bradycardia. What should the preceptor explain about morphine's role?

1. It is a form of benign euthanasia for patient comfort

2. It decreases cardiac preload and may increase cardiac output

3. It is a comfort measure; the disease process causes death

4. It may hasten death and should be discontinued

The correct answer is: It is a comfort measure; the disease process causes death

Morphine is primarily used for pain management and can also provide comfort to patients who are experiencing significant distress or suffering. In the context of a patient who is poorly responsive with bradycardia while on a morphine drip, it is important to understand the nuanced role of morphine in end-of-life care. Choosing the response indicating that morphine is a comfort measure emphasizes the principle of providing relief from pain and distress during serious illness or at the end of life. In situations where patients are near death, morphine can help alleviate symptoms such as severe pain, anxiety, and breathlessness, thereby enhancing the quality of their remaining life. The disease process itself—not the medication—is what ultimately leads to death, and morphine's role is to address discomfort associated with that process rather than to intentionally hasten death. Other options address different aspects of morphine but may misrepresent its primary intent. For example, equating morphine to a form of benign euthanasia misinterprets its therapeutic use, while suggesting it decreases cardiac preload and may increase cardiac output does not accurately capture the context of use in a dying patient. The idea that it may hasten death and should be discontinued could unintentionally lead to inadequate pain relief, contradicting the goal of providing