A 58-year-old client is two hours postoperative and has been receiving morphine through an intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. The client becomes unresponsive to voice and has shallow respirations at 6/min, oxygen saturation of 84% on room air, and a definite pulse of 62/min. The nurse stops the PCA and activates the rapid response team. A second nurse arrives with a bag-mask device, oxygen, and naloxone authorized under the emergency protocol. Which action should the nurses take now?
- Support breathing with bag-mask ventilation and oxygen, and administer naloxone under the emergency protocol.
- Apply oxygen by nasal cannula and wait for the rapid response team before giving the prescribed reversal medication.
- Leave the PCA paused and obtain an arterial blood gas sample before deciding whether breathing support is needed.
- Restart the PCA at a lower dose and reassess the respiratory rate after the client becomes more awake.