Nursing 6005 Chapter 34: Sedative-Hypnotic Drugs

NURSING 6005 CHAPTER 34: SEDATIVE-HYPNOTIC DRUGS Test Bank MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. A nurse is discussing the use of benzodiazepines as sedative-hypnotic agents with a group of nursing students. A student asks about the actions of these drugs in the central nervous system. The nurse makes which correct statement? a. “Benzodiazepines affect the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex to cause anterograde amnesia.” b. “Benzodiazepines depress neuronal functions by acting at a single site in the brain.” c. “Benzodiazepines induce muscle relaxation by acting on sites outside the central nervous system.” d. “Benzodiazepines promote sleep through effects on the limbic system.” 2. A patient who has been using secobarbital for several months to treat insomnia tells the nurse that the prescriber has said the prescription will be changed to temazepam (Restoril) because it is safer. The patient asks why this agent is safer. The nurse is correct in telling the patient that temazepam: a. does not depress the central nervous system. b. shows no respiratory depression, even in toxic doses. c. mimics the actions of a central nervous system inhibitory neurotransmitter. d. only potentiates the action of endogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). 3. A hospitalized patient who is given one dose of flurazepam continues to show drowsiness the next day. A nursing student asks the nurse the reason for this, because the drug’s half-life is only 2 to 3 hours. Which response by the nurse is correct? a. “Benzodiazepines commonly cause residual effects lasting into the day after the dose is given.” b. “The patient is having a paradoxical reaction to this medication.” c. “This patient must have developed a previous tolerance to benzodiazepines.” d. “When this drug is metabolized, the resulting compound has longer lasting effects.” 4. A nursing student asks a nurse what criteria are used to determine which benzodiazepine is prescribed in different situations. The nurse correctly states that selection is based on differences in the onset and duration of effects, as well as on: a. differences in sites of action in the central nervous system. b. marketing decisions of pharmaceutical companies. c. relative differences in abuse potential. d. variations in adverse effects and drug interactions. 5. A patient takes temazepam (Restoril) for insomnia. The patient tells the nurse that a recent telephone bill lists several calls to friends that the patient does not remember making. What will the nurse do?