Medications
This fatal side effect from antipsychotics would present as sore throat/fever.
What is agranulocytosis?
This would be the expected follow-up for a patient with borderline personality disorder.
What is DBT?
DBT emphasizes acceptance and change, focuses on skills like mindfulness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance. Of note, CBT focuses on cognitive restructuring and changing negative thought patterns.
This is the term for inflated self-regard.
What is grandiosity?
This may occur in mania when patients exaggerate their achievements or importance, state they know famous people, or believe they have great powers.
A patient with a history of strokes and recent memory problems and confusion would be at risk for this type of neurocognitive disorder.
What is vascular neurocognitive disorder?
Patients with PTSD are at higher risk for this maladaptive coping mechanism.
What is substance abuse?
Educating female patients of this risk is important if they are taking benzodiazepines.
What is the importance of using contraception?
Benzos are a class D medication=known risk to fetus.
True or false. There are several FDA-approved drugs specific to the treatment of personality disorders.
False. Patients may benefit from off-label uses of various classes of drugs, depending on their personality disorder.
Dopaminergic dysfunction is linked to these disorders.
What are schizophrenia spectrum disorder?
This is an important clinical pearl when considering the benefit of verbal de-escalation methods with patients with major NCD.
What is the patient is unable to remember the consequences, therefore behavior-modification techniques do not work.
This physiological effect may result in this after a prolonged stress response.
What is decreased resistance to disease?
During the stage of exhaustion, the body's compensatory mechanisms no longer function effectively, and diseases of adaptation occur. Examples are hypertension, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.
A lithium level above this level warrants withholding and notifying the physician.
What is above 1.8 mEq/L?
Patients with histrionic personality disorder may display extreme attention seeking behaviors. What would the nurse prior to this patient attending group therapy?
What is setting limits and continuing to monitor during group therapy?
These pts may display extreme attention-seeking behaviors and are often impulsive, which can be extremely disruptive in a group setting with other members.
A patient believes the FBI implanted a chip in their brain to control their thoughts. This is an example of this.
What are delusions of control?
Name some risk factors for delirium in older adults.
What is polypharmacy, infections, and anesthesia?
Various medications have been used to decrease the intensity of symptoms in an individual who is withdrawing from, or who is experiencing the effects of excessive use of, alcohol and other drugs. What is this called?
What is medication-assisted treatment, or MAT?
Note, please review commonly used MAT.
A patient has been taking sertraline for a few weeks now but still has symptoms of depression. What nursing action is appropriate?
What is education regarding the time required for antidepressants to exert their effect?
This is the first priority in order for nursing interventions to be effective.
What is trust?
A patient needs to trust the nurse in order for nursing interventions to be successful. While waiting for the onset of action of medications, helping the pt to verbalize feelings will help them and the nurse better understand the pt’s perspectives. The pt can learn alternative ways of dealing with overwhelming emotions and feel more control over their life. In preparation for eventual discharge, the pt needs outpatient resources to help address potential ongoing personal feelings of helplessness, worthlessness, and isolation.
A patient feels they should just forget their problems. This is an example of this type of problem resolution.
What is a distorted thinking that leads to erroneous or dysfunctional appraisal of situations?
This may occur in generalized anxiety disorder.
This is an early symptom of vascular NCD.
What is norepinephrine?
A decrease in norepinephrine levels would play a significant role in the development of major depressive disorder. The functions of norepinephrine include the regulation of mood, cognition, perception, locomotion, cardiovascular functioning, and sleep and arousal
Dopamine-blocking medications can cause this unintended side effect related to motion.
What is akathisia?
Medication that blocks dopamine often produces disturbances of movement, such as akathisia, because dopamine affects neurons involved in both thought processes and movement regulation. This can cause a feeling of intense & uncontrollable need to keep moving, leading to distress and even suicide.
This side effect may occur within the first few weeks of starting a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA).
What is postural hypotension?
This usually subsides after the first few weeks of therapy. Postural hypotension can be managed by teaching the patient to stay well hydrated and rise slowly.
Name some symptoms of alcohol use disorder.
What are:
Being unable to control of alcohol intake, strong cravings or urges to drink, failing to meet obligations at work, school or home due to repeated alcohol use, & continuing to drink even though it's causing relationship problems.
This neurotransmitter is destroyed in Alzheimer's disease.
What is acetylcholine?
Drugs given to patients with AD will help slow the progression by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, which delays the destruction of acetylcholine, which is necessary for the memory process.
This is a basic but key legal principle regarding psychiatric patients. It guides the approach our approach in crises situations.
What is providing care using the least restrictive intervention possible?
The rule of using the least restrictive treatment or intervention possible is the patient’s legal right. Intervention may be necessary when the patient threatens harm to self.
It is critical to follow this principle when making clinical decisions.