What assessment is critical for the nurse to perform to evaluate a patient's response to therapies for angioedema?

To evaluate a patient's response to therapies for angioedema, checking for swelling of the patient's lips and tongue is critical. Angioedema primarily affects deeper layers of the skin and often results in significant swelling in these areas, which can compromise airway patency and pose serious risks. Monitoring the extent of this swelling is vital to determine if the treatment is effective, as resolution of lip and tongue swelling indicates improvement in the patient's condition.

While other assessments such as obtaining blood pressure and heart rate are important for overall patient monitoring, they are more indicative of cardiovascular status than specific changes in angioedema. Similarly, assessing nasal discharge or wheal and flare lesions is less relevant in this scenario, as these signs do not directly reflect the severity or response to therapies specific to angioedema. Thus, focusing on swelling of the lips and tongue provides the most pertinent information regarding the effectiveness of treatment for this condition.