Which electrolyte imbalance will decrease the ability of the patient’s muscle cells to reach the action potential and contract?

The nurse is performing an admission assessment on a bedridden patient transferred from an assisted living facility. The nurse notes an area, 10 cm by 12 cm, on the patient’s sacrum that is intact but maroon in color. Which of the following is the most appropriate term for the nurse to use when documenting this finding?

The nurse is assigned to a patient who has long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus who is being hospitalized for severe pneumonia. During the course of the patient’s hospitalization, he acutely develops polydipsia, polyuria, fatigue, generalized weakness, abdominal pain and nausea, as well as significantly elevated blood glucose level, hyperkalemia, and urine ketones. Which of the following best describes this patient’s condition?