Exam 4: Biological Basis for Understanding Psychopharmacology

A patient has delusions and hallucinations. Before beginning treatment with a psychotropic medication, the health care provider wants to rule out the presence of a brain tumor. For which test will a nurse need to prepare the patient?

A nurse administers a medication that potentiates the action of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Which finding would be expected?

A drug causes muscarinic-receptor blockade. A nurse will assess the patient for:

A nurse caring for a patient taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) will develop outcome criteria related to:

A nurse cares for patients taking various medications, including buspirone (BuSpar), haloperidol (Haldol), trazodone (Desyrel), and phenelzine (Nardil). The nurse will order a special diet for the patient taking:

A nurse prepares to administer an antipsychotic medication to a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia. Additional monitoring of the medication's effects and side effects will be most important if the patient is also diagnosed with which health problem? (Select all that apply.)

A patient is hospitalized for major depressive disorder. Of the medications listed, a nurse can expect to provide the patient with teaching about:

Priority teaching for a patient taking clozapine (Clozaril) should include which instruction?

A patient's spouse, who is a chemist, asks a nurse how serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) lift depression. The nurse should explain that SSRIs:

A patient begins therapy with a first generation antipsychotic medication. What teaching should a nurse provide related to the drug's strong dopaminergic effect?

A patient has dementia. The health care provider wants to make a differential diagnosis between Alzheimer disease and multiple infarctions. Which diagnostic procedure should a nurse expect to prepare the patient for first?

A patient has taken many conventional antipsychotic drugs over the years. The health care provider, who is concerned about early signs of tardive dyskinesia, prescribes risperidone (Risperdal). A nurse planning care for this patient understands that second generation antipsychotics:

A patient has symptoms of acute anxiety related to the death of a parent in an automobile accident 2 hours earlier. The nurse should anticipate administering a medication from which group?

The parent of an adolescent diagnosed with schizophrenia asks a nurse, "My child's doctor ordered a positron-emission tomography (PET) scan. What is that?" Select the nurse's best reply.

A nurse should assess a patient taking a medication with anticholinergic properties for inhibited function of the:

The spouse of a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia asks, "Which neurotransmitters are more active when a person has schizophrenia?" The nurse should state, "The current thinking is that the thought disturbances are related to increased activity of: (Select all that apply.)

A patient hospitalized with a mood disorder has aggression, agitation, talkativeness, and irritability. A nurse begins the care plan based on the expectation that the health care provider is most likely to prescribe a medication classified as a(n):

The laboratory report for a patient taking clozapine (Clozaril) shows a white blood cell count of 3000 mm³ and a granulocyte count of 1500 mm³. The nurse should:

A patient asks a nurse, "What are neurotransmitters? My doctor says mine are out of balance." The best reply would be:

A patient has disorganized thinking associated with schizophrenia. Neuroimaging would most likely show dysfunction in which part of the brain?