What should be done if a patient does not respond to touch?

When a patient does not respond to touch, the appropriate protocol is to gently shake the patient and document their response. This action assesses the patient's level of consciousness and response to stimuli, which is a crucial part of evaluating their neurological status. The AVPU scale is used to categorize levels of consciousness: "A" for Alert, "V" for Verbal response, "P" for Painful response, and "U" for Unresponsive.

If shaking the patient is done and they do respond, you would classify their response based on the assessment. Documenting as 'P' indicates that the patient can respond to a painful stimulus, which is important for further evaluation and care.

In this scenario, other choices either involve premature actions, like CPR, which would only be indicated if the patient is unresponsive and not breathing, or administering medication, which should only be done based on specific indications and protocols. Therefore, the approach of gently shaking followed by documentation aligns with best practices for assessing responsiveness in a patient who shows no initial response to touch.