The nurse is caring for an older-adult patient and notes that the temperature is 96.8° F (36° C) . How will the nurse interpret this finding?

A) The patient has hyperthermia.
B) The patient has a normal temperature.
C) The patient is suffering from hypothermia.
D) The patient is demonstrating increased metabolism.

Hypothermia

A medical emergency condition where the body loses heat faster than it can produce, causing a dangerously low body temperature.

Hyperthermia

A medical condition characterized by an abnormally high body temperature due to failed thermoregulation.

Metabolism

Aggregate of all chemical processes that take place in living organisms and result in growth, generation of energy, elimination of wastes, and other functions concerned with the distribution of nutrients in the blood after digestion.