You are caring for a patient with blood clots in his lungs. He is receiving urokinase for the treatment of pulmonary embolism. The urokinase has been infusing for the last 10 hours. As you assess the patient, you note that his blood pressure is 102/64, heart rate is 108, and his respiratory rate is 16 breaths per minute. The patient asks to use the bedpan. When he is finished, you notice that he has passed a medium-sized bloody stool.
Your best intervention is to:

The best intervention in this scenario is to stop the urokinase infusion immediately and notify the physician right away. The presence of a medium-sized bloody stool suggests that the patient may be experiencing a gastrointestinal bleed, which can be a serious complication of thrombolytic therapy like urokinase. The physician will need to assess the situation further and determine the appropriate course of action, which may include additional diagnostic testing and treatment adjustments.