NRNP 6675 FINAL EXAM
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
SOLUTIONS BY EXPERTS
LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
GRADED A+ BEST FOR
REVISION!!
,1. The 1/2 life of lithium is about?: 24 hours
2. Fluoxetine is the SSRI with the WD risk ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER lowest due to long half life
3. What antipsychotics are good for pts who miss doses of their meds ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER Antipsy-chotics with
long half-lives:
1. Cariprazine(Vrylar): (2-4 days-active metabolites up to 3 weeks)
2. Abilify (3 days)
3. Brexipiprazole (4 days)
4. Pimozide (4-5 days)
5. Pimavanserin (2 days, active metabolites 8 days)
4. Disulfiram's alcohol interactions persist for up to how long after the medica-tion is stopped ✔✔ CORRECT
ANSWER LONG Half life--2-3 days
persist up to 2 weeks following stopping
5. What is the only TCA with a long half life ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER Protriptyline (Vivactil)
6. Most psychotropics have a medium range 1/2 life of approx ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 24 hours
7. what does "steady state" mean in relation to 1/2 life ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER steady state means that you are eliminating the
drug at the same overall rate that you are ingesting it
8. Lithium reaches its 'steady state' when ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 5 half lives
example:
Day 1: Start pt on Lithium 600 mg daily
Day 2: (24 hours later) the amount left in his body is 300 mg (day 2 min) because 24 hours has passed--one 1/2 life--therefore the pt has excreted 1/2 of the initial
amount.
THEN the pt takes his 2nd dose of 600 mg on DAY 2-resulting in a max dose of 900 (300 mg left in body + 600 mg of 2nd dose).
DAY 3: starts ott with 450 mg (1/2 of the 900 mg in pt's system) and after taking the day 3 600 mg dose, the pt now has a total of 1050 mg.
9. Due to the steady state of Lithium, when do we draw a blood level ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 5 half lives if you check
any earlier, the trough level will underestimate the actual level the pt is on after achieving steady state
, 10. Fluoxetine has a half life of about ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 2 weeks 1/2 life
take 2.5 months to achieve steady state
11. Most psychotropic medications operate in this fashion:: "when you double the dose, the serum dose doubles."
*minus three SRIs and three anticonvulsants (Fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paxil, gabapentin, valproate and carba-mazepine)
12. induces it's own metabolism, hastening excretion and shortening it's half life: A. Carbamazepine
(Tegretol)
*this ettect begins to "rev up" after 2-4 weeks--which is why a carbamazepine level is so important on obtaining 1-2 months after starting Tegretol.
13. Carbamazepine (Tegretol) level should be checked how soon after starting to take this med ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 1-
2 months due to Tegretol inducing it's own metabolism, hastening excretion and shortening it's half life.
14. has trouble getting a "serum" level because it binds to proteins that render it therapeutically inactive ✔
✔ CORRECT ANSWER A. Valproate Acid (Depakote)
-this is particularly true at the lower levels (eg. <50 mcg/mL), so you can expect dose changes to make a more dramatic ditterence when the pt's depakote level is in the higher range
15. 's serum level is the opposite of Valproic Acid: it rises quickly at first and then slows down ✔✔
CORRECT ANSWER Gabapentin
*gabapentin saturates the transporters that absorb it in the small intestine, causing its levels to rise at a snails pace when the dosage goes above a certain saturation point (around
900 mg/day).
-from there, the saturation trickles down; @ 900 mg/day--60% is absorbed. @ 1200 mg/day--50 % is absorbed. @3000 mg/day--30% of the gabapentin is absorbed.
16. Due to Gabapentin's serum pattern for dosage:
@ 900 mg/day, how much is the patient absorbing ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER @ 0900mg/day---60% is absorbed.
17. Due to Gabapentin's serum pattern for dosage:
@ 1200 mg/day, how much is the patient absorbing ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER @ 1200 mg/day--50 % is absorbed.
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
SOLUTIONS BY EXPERTS
LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
GRADED A+ BEST FOR
REVISION!!
,1. The 1/2 life of lithium is about?: 24 hours
2. Fluoxetine is the SSRI with the WD risk ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER lowest due to long half life
3. What antipsychotics are good for pts who miss doses of their meds ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER Antipsy-chotics with
long half-lives:
1. Cariprazine(Vrylar): (2-4 days-active metabolites up to 3 weeks)
2. Abilify (3 days)
3. Brexipiprazole (4 days)
4. Pimozide (4-5 days)
5. Pimavanserin (2 days, active metabolites 8 days)
4. Disulfiram's alcohol interactions persist for up to how long after the medica-tion is stopped ✔✔ CORRECT
ANSWER LONG Half life--2-3 days
persist up to 2 weeks following stopping
5. What is the only TCA with a long half life ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER Protriptyline (Vivactil)
6. Most psychotropics have a medium range 1/2 life of approx ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 24 hours
7. what does "steady state" mean in relation to 1/2 life ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER steady state means that you are eliminating the
drug at the same overall rate that you are ingesting it
8. Lithium reaches its 'steady state' when ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 5 half lives
example:
Day 1: Start pt on Lithium 600 mg daily
Day 2: (24 hours later) the amount left in his body is 300 mg (day 2 min) because 24 hours has passed--one 1/2 life--therefore the pt has excreted 1/2 of the initial
amount.
THEN the pt takes his 2nd dose of 600 mg on DAY 2-resulting in a max dose of 900 (300 mg left in body + 600 mg of 2nd dose).
DAY 3: starts ott with 450 mg (1/2 of the 900 mg in pt's system) and after taking the day 3 600 mg dose, the pt now has a total of 1050 mg.
9. Due to the steady state of Lithium, when do we draw a blood level ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 5 half lives if you check
any earlier, the trough level will underestimate the actual level the pt is on after achieving steady state
, 10. Fluoxetine has a half life of about ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 2 weeks 1/2 life
take 2.5 months to achieve steady state
11. Most psychotropic medications operate in this fashion:: "when you double the dose, the serum dose doubles."
*minus three SRIs and three anticonvulsants (Fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paxil, gabapentin, valproate and carba-mazepine)
12. induces it's own metabolism, hastening excretion and shortening it's half life: A. Carbamazepine
(Tegretol)
*this ettect begins to "rev up" after 2-4 weeks--which is why a carbamazepine level is so important on obtaining 1-2 months after starting Tegretol.
13. Carbamazepine (Tegretol) level should be checked how soon after starting to take this med ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER 1-
2 months due to Tegretol inducing it's own metabolism, hastening excretion and shortening it's half life.
14. has trouble getting a "serum" level because it binds to proteins that render it therapeutically inactive ✔
✔ CORRECT ANSWER A. Valproate Acid (Depakote)
-this is particularly true at the lower levels (eg. <50 mcg/mL), so you can expect dose changes to make a more dramatic ditterence when the pt's depakote level is in the higher range
15. 's serum level is the opposite of Valproic Acid: it rises quickly at first and then slows down ✔✔
CORRECT ANSWER Gabapentin
*gabapentin saturates the transporters that absorb it in the small intestine, causing its levels to rise at a snails pace when the dosage goes above a certain saturation point (around
900 mg/day).
-from there, the saturation trickles down; @ 900 mg/day--60% is absorbed. @ 1200 mg/day--50 % is absorbed. @3000 mg/day--30% of the gabapentin is absorbed.
16. Due to Gabapentin's serum pattern for dosage:
@ 900 mg/day, how much is the patient absorbing ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER @ 0900mg/day---60% is absorbed.
17. Due to Gabapentin's serum pattern for dosage:
@ 1200 mg/day, how much is the patient absorbing ✔✔ CORRECT ANSWER @ 1200 mg/day--50 % is absorbed.
