Your patient, Harriet Zoose, has a medical diagnosis of Acute exacerbation of ulcerative colitis. When you obtain her health history, she tells you that she’s currently experiencing painful abdominal cramps and has had very frequent bowel movements containing blood and pus for the past few days. She rates her discomfort level at a 7 on a 10-point scale. She also states she has recently had trouble sleeping and feels extremely fatigued. She says the colitis has drastically decreased her sex drive, which is causing tension within her marriage. On physical examination, you assess: • hypotension • low-grade fever • hypoactive bowel sounds • abdominal distention and tenderness • pallor. When you review her diagnostic data, you note that she has a moderately elevated white blood cell count; slightly elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level; decreased hemoglobin level, hematocrit, and total protein level; and a prolonged bleeding time. An upper GI series performed the previous day found scarred and stenotic bowel segments, which are obstructing the intestinal flow.