A 46-year-old patient, V.T., is admitted to the intensive care unit after going to the hospital with complaints of chest pain. He is diagnosed with coronary artery disease with a partial block of one...

A 46-year-old patient, V.T., is admitted to the intensive care unit after going to the hospital with complaints of chest pain. He is diagnosed with coronary artery disease with a partial block of one of his coronary arteries and is awaiting an angioplasty procedure. He has a history of alcoholism but states that he has not had a drink for 2 years, thanks to Alcoholics Anonymous. In the intensive care unit, V.T.’s heart monitor indicates increased episodes of premature ventricular contractions. When a 20-second run of ventricular tachycardia is noted, the nurse decides to implement the standing orders for a lidocaine infusion. The standing order reads: “For episodes of ventricular tachycardia, give a loading dose of 75 mg of lidocaine intravenous (IV) push; repeat this dose in 5 minutes, and then begin a continuous infusion of 2 mg/min IV.” 1. What factors will the nurse consider before beginning the lidocaine infusion? 2. What will the nurse monitor while V.T. is receiving this infusion? Three days later, V.T. is ready for discharge. He has had the angioplasty procedure, which was deemed a success, and the lidocaine infusion was discontinued yesterday. He has been started on oral quinidine, 324 mg, every 6 hours. One month later, he calls the office and tells the nurse that he is hearing a “ringing sound” in his ears, even when the television and radio are turned off. 3. Is this ringing sound significant? The physician decides to change V.T.’s medication to procainamide. V.T. asks the nurse, “What are the possible side effects of this drug? It seems that they all have bad side effects.” 4. What is the nurse’s best answer to this question?