NURS 6521 Week 5 Quiz - Question and Answers

• Question 1 1 out of 1 points A homeless man who is well known to care providers at the local hospital has been admitted to the emergency department after having a seizure outside a mall. The man is known to be a heavy alcohol user and is malnourished with a very low body mass index. How are this patient's characteristics likely to influence possible treatment with phenytoin? Response Feedback: A protein deficit puts the patient at greater risk for having greater amounts of free, active drug in the blood because less protein albumin is available for binding than would normally be expected. Alcohol does not compete with phenytoin for binding sites and the drug is not necessarily contraindicated with recent alcohol intake, though alcohol does influence the metabolism of phenytoin. Oral phenytoin would not significantly minimize the risk of adverse effects. • Question 2 1 out of 1 points A patient has been hospitalized for treatment of substance abuse after being arrested and jailed for the past 24 hours. The patient is experiencing severe muscle and abdominal cramps, seizures, and acute psychosis due to abrupt withdrawal. Which of the following drug classes is the most likely cause of these severe and potentially fatal withdrawal symptoms? Response Feedback: Abrupt withdrawal from long-term use of sedative–hypnotic drugs should never be attempted because withdrawal symptoms are serious and potentially fatal. Withdrawal symptoms include agitation, dysphoria, insomnia, vomiting, diarrhea, ataxia, hallucinations, acute psychosis, muscle and abdominal cramps, anorexia, and seizures. These symptoms may occur 12 to 72 hours after the last use of the drug and may last up to 14 days. The abrupt withdrawal of benzodiazepines, opioids, and amphetamines does not cause such severe and potentially fatal withdrawal symptoms.