Which action supports monitoring for systemic hemorrhage after thrombolysis?

• A. Monitor for and report blood in urine, stool, saliva, or gastric contents
• B. Initiate urinary catheterization immediately to monitor output
• C. Administer heparin to prevent clotting
• D. Increase activity level to monitor for bleeding risk

Answer: (A)

Thrombolysis raises the risk of bleeding throughout the body because the medication breaks down clots systemically, not just at the targeted area. The key way to detect this early is to watch for bleeding in any body output. Blood in urine, stool, saliva, or gastric contents are direct signs that systemic hemorrhage may be occurring, and reporting these findings promptly allows stopping the thrombolytic therapy and starting appropriate bleeding management. While monitoring urine output is useful, inserting a urinary catheter specifically to monitor output isn’t the primary method for detecting systemic bleeding and can introduce additional risks. Giving anticoagulants like heparin would increase the bleeding tendency, and simply increasing activity would not help identify or prevent hemorrhage.