| Course | NSG 123 Medical-Surgical Nursing I |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Fluid and electrolyte trend study |
| Length | About 700 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 123 Unit 2
Four Days of Numbers Read by Direction: Fluid Balance, Weight, and Electrolytes in a 58-Year-Old Woman Kept Nothing by Mouth for Diverticulitis
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 123: Medical-Surgical Nursing I
Instructor Name
January 23, 2026
Four Days of Numbers Read by Direction: Fluid Balance, Weight, and Electrolytes in a 58-Year-Old Woman Kept Nothing by Mouth for Diverticulitis
The Chart
The patient is the composite dispatcher from Unit 1, admitted with sigmoid diverticulitis and a pericolic abscess. She was kept nothing by mouth from admission until the morning of day 4, received intravenous fluids and antibiotics, and had a percutaneous drain placed in the abscess on day 2. Values are morning results; intake and output are 24-hour totals ending at 0600. Reference ranges are the course laboratory manual's.
| Measure | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight (kg, 0600, same scale) | 71.8 | 72.3 | 72.9 | 72.6 | Admission estimate 72.5 |
| Intake: IV (mL) | 2,650 | 2,400 | 2,400 | 1,600 | |
| Intake: oral (mL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 650 | |
| Output: urine (mL) | 780 | 1,450 | 1,900 | 2,100 | |
| Output: vomit (mL) | 400 (estimated) | 150 (estimated) | 0 | 0 | |
| Output: abscess drain (mL) | none | 85 | 40 | 15 | |
| Sodium (mmol/L) | 139 | 137 | 136 | 137 | 135-145 |
| Potassium (mmol/L) | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.5-5.1 |
| Magnesium (mg/dL) | not drawn | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.7-2.2 |
| Bicarbonate (mmol/L) | 29 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 22-29 |
| Urea nitrogen (mg/dL) | 26 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 7-20 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.6-1.1 |
What Rose
Urine output climbed every day, from 780 to 2,100 mL, as intravenous fluids replaced what vomiting and poor intake had removed. Weight rose from 71.8 to 72.9 kg over the first three days. These two move together and point the same way: she was short of fluid on arrival and the deficit was corrected. The rise in weight by day 3 to slightly above her estimated usual weight suggests that fluid was given faster than she needed by then, which is consistent with the reduction in the intravenous rate on day 4 and the small fall in weight that followed.
The Net Balance, Checked Against Weight
Measured intake minus measured output gives a net positive balance of 1,470 mL on day 1, 715 mL on day 2, 460 mL on day 3, and 135 mL on day 4. The chart does not include losses that cannot be measured, from the skin and breath, which rise with fever; on days 1 and 2, when her temperature was above 38 °C, these may have been close to a liter a day. That is why the day-1 weight rose by only about half a kilogram despite a measured positive balance of nearly 1.5 L. By day 3, with the fever gone, the net balance and the weight gain agree more closely. Reading the two together is more reliable than either alone.
What Fell
Urea nitrogen fell from 26 to 12 and creatinine from 1.2 to 0.8. These are read as a set: both were raised on day 1 by reduced kidney blood flow from low volume, and both returned to range as volume was restored. Bicarbonate fell from 29, at the top of its range, to 25. Vomiting removes stomach acid, which leaves the blood slightly alkaline; as vomiting stopped and fluids containing chloride were given, the bicarbonate returned toward the middle of its range. Drain output fell from 85 to 15 mL, consistent with the abscess emptying.
What Flattened, and What Did Not Shift
Potassium is the value that did not behave as expected. It rose from 3.2 to 3.4 on day 2, then slipped back to 3.3 on day 3 despite replacement, and only rose to 3.8 on day 4. Two findings in the chart explain the flat stretch. Her urine output was increasing sharply, and potassium is lost in urine. And her magnesium was low at 1.5 on day 2. Low magnesium makes the kidney waste potassium, so potassium is hard to correct until magnesium is replaced (Huang & Kuo, 2007). Magnesium was replaced on day 2, reached 1.9 by day 3, and potassium rose the day after. The sequence in the chart, magnesium first and potassium a day later, fits that mechanism.
Sodium barely moved, staying between 136 and 139 throughout. That stability is itself informative: the fluid she lost and the fluid she received were close to the body's own sodium concentration, so the problem was volume, not a sodium imbalance.
What a Nurse Watches Next
Potassium and magnesium daily until both hold in range for two days, since low potassium can cause heart rhythm changes and slow return of bowel function (Kardalas et al., 2018). Weight each morning, since the day-3 rise suggests the balance could tip toward excess fluid if intravenous rates are not reduced as she drinks. Intake and output, now including oral fluids. Drain output and character, as a fall to zero with a return of fever would mean something different from a fall to zero with her improving. The patient is a composite; ranges follow the course manual and the reading in the course text (Hinkle et al., 2022).
References
Hinkle, J. L., Cheever, K. H., & Overbaugh, K. J. (2022). Brunner & Suddarth's textbook of medical-surgical nursing (15th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Huang, C.-L., & Kuo, E. (2007). Mechanism of hypokalemia in magnesium deficiency. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 18(10), 2649-2652. https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2007070792
Kardalas, E., Paschou, S. A., Anagnostis, P., Muscogiuri, G., Siasos, G., & Vryonidou, A. (2018). Hypokalemia: A clinical update. Endocrine Connections, 7(4), R135-R146. https://doi.org/10.1530/EC-18-0109
Reading the NSG 123 Unit 2 instructions
Unit 2 asks you to interpret fluid balance and electrolyte data over several days. Expect to present the chart, group values by direction, rising, falling or flat, explain what each trend shows, check intake and output against weight and say what to watch next. Many versions ask whether to use daily values or shift values and how to handle a value that does not follow the expected trend. Check whether your section supplies the data. Reading by direction shows the body's response better than single values. Intake and output totals should be checked against daily weight, since measurement errors are common. A value that stalls deserves a reason, such as magnesium affecting potassium. Name monitoring that follows from each trend.
Inside the NSG 123 Unit 2 example
The study opens with a table of four days of values. The rising section explains increasing urine output as fluid replacement taking effect. The balance section checks net intake against weight change and explains any gap. The falling section reads urea and creatinine together, linking their fall to correction of dehydration rather than kidney recovery alone. The flat section takes potassium, which did not rise as expected, and explains the link to magnesium. The final section sets monitoring priorities for the next days. Grouping by direction turns a dense table into an explanation of how the patient's fluid status is changing and why one value needs more attention.
Reading the NSG 123 Unit 2 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a fluid and electrolyte study typically covers presentation of data, interpretation of trends, checking balance against weight, explanation of unexpected values and monitoring plans. Interpretation of trends is where most marks sit, since graders want values read together over time rather than labeled high or low one by one. Data points reward a clear table with units. Balance criteria look for intake and output compared with weight. Unexpected value points go to a reasoned explanation, such as magnesium holding potassium down. Monitoring earns credit for specific next checks with stop criteria. Units must be consistent. The interpretation follows the fluid and electrolyte chapters of Hinkle and Cheever, with Gragossian on magnesium.
NSG 123 Unit 2 help before you submit
Fluid studies in Unit 2 commonly lose points by labeling each value as high or low without reading trends. Another frequent problem is trusting intake and output totals without checking weight. Students often miss why potassium will not correct, overlooking magnesium. Urea and creatinine are read separately rather than as a pair. Units are mixed. Monitoring plans are vague, such as continue to monitor labs. The patient's clinical picture is ignored. Values from different times of day are compared without noting it. Insensible losses from fever are forgotten. Finally, explain the value that does not fit, because graders reward a study that notices a stalled number and finds the reason behind it.
Get a NSG 123 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 2 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 123 classroom, with the values or the case the assignment provides. We write a custom example that charts the dates across, keeps balance beside the values, organizes the reading by direction and attributes every range to a source. First custom sample free, returned in 24 to 48 hours.
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NSG 123 Unit 2 questions, answered
How many days of values does the study need?
Whatever the case supplies, and where you build the record yourself, enough that a direction is visible rather than implied. Two points make a line and three make a trend, so a short series with dates usually reads better than one panel discussed at length. Follow any count the instructions set before deciding for yourself.
Which reference ranges belong in the study?
The ones your course supplies, named where you use them. Intervals differ between laboratories and between the texts sections work from, so an unsourced range leaves your instructor unable to check the judgments built on it. Where your reading and your clinical site list different intervals, write both and say which the study followed.
Should the study say what caused the pattern?
Usually it offers what the movement is consistent with, phrased that way rather than as a settled conclusion, and the instructions will say how far to go. What the study should not do is name one cause and stop reading. Where two processes would produce the same direction, say which finding would separate them.
Where can I find a free NSG 123 Unit 2 sample paper?
Read the complete NSG 123 Unit 2 fluid and electrolyte study here at no charge, four days read by direction with the potassium puzzle explained. A study of your own patient's data can be prepared on request.
Why won't potassium correct with replacement?
Low magnesium can cause the kidneys to keep losing potassium, so potassium stays low until magnesium is replaced. This sample finds that pattern in a patient whose potassium stalled despite replacement.