Exam 4: Biological Basis for Understanding Psychopharmacology

The nurse wants to assess for disturbances in circadian rhythms in a patient admitted for depression.Which question best implements this assessment?

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

The spouse of a patient 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 begins therapy with a phenothiazine medication.What teaching should a nurse provide related to the drug's strong dopaminergic effect?

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 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:

The therapeutic action of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)blocks neurotransmitter reuptake,causing:

A nurse administering psychotropic medications should be prepared to intervene when giving a drug that blocks the attachment of norepinephrine to alpha? receptors because the patient may experience:

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

A nurse prepares to administer an antipsychotic medication to a patient 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 has taken many conventional antipsychotic drugs over 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 atypical antipsychotics:

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 taking medication for mental illness develops restlessness and an uncontrollable need to be in motion.A nurse can correctly analyze that these symptoms are related to which drug action?

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

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 nurse can anticipate anticholinergic side effects will be likely when a patient is taking:

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

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

On the basis of current knowledge of neurotransmitter effects,a nurse anticipates that the treatment plan for a patient with memory difficulties may include medications designed to: