Exam 4: Pharmacokinetics

A provider has written an order for a medication: drug X 100 mg PO every 6 hours. The half-life for the drug is approximately 6 hours. The nurse is preparing to administer the first dose at 8:00 AM on Tuesday. On Wednesday, when will the serum drug level reach plateau?

A patient is receiving intravenous gentamicin. A serum drug test reveals toxic levels. The dosing is correct, and this medication has been tolerated by this patient in the past. Which could be a probable cause of the test result?

The nurse is preparing to administer penicillin G intramuscularly to a child. The child's parents ask why the drug cannot be given in an oral liquid form. What is the nurse's reply?

A patient claims to get better effects with a tablet of Brand X of a drug than with a tablet of Brand Y of the same drug. Both brands contain the same amount of the active ingredient. What does the nurse know to be most likely?

An adult male patient is 1 day postoperative from a total hip replacement. On a pain scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the greatest pain, the patient reports a pain level of 10. Which medication would be most appropriate for the nurse to administer to this patient?

A nurse is explaining drug metabolism to a nursing student who asks about glucuronidation. The nurse knows that this is a process that allows drugs to be:

A patient receives a drug that has a narrow therapeutic range. The nurse administering this medication will expect to do what?

When administering medications to infants, it is important to remember which of the following?

A patient is taking a drug that does not bind to albumin. Which aspect of renal drug excretion is affected by this characteristic?

A patient tells the nurse that the oral drug that has been prescribed has caused a lot of stomach discomfort in the past. What will the nurse ask the prescriber?

The nurse is caring for a child who has ingested a toxic amount of aspirin. The provider orders an intravenous drug that will increase pH in the blood and urine. The nurse understands that this effect is necessary to:

A patient is given a prescription for azithromycin [Zithromax] and asks the nurse why the dose on the first day is twice the amount of the dose on the next 4 days. Which reply by the nurse is correct?

A nurse is giving an enteral medication. The patient asks why this method is preferable for this drug. How will the nurse reply?