Chapter 22  Psychotherapeutic Agents

Chapter 22  Psychotherapeutic Agents

Complete Chapter Questions And Answers
 

Sample Questions

1. A group of patients are being screened to see which patients would be the best candidate for a
psychotherapeutic drug trial that helps people concentrate longer on activities. Which patient would be
best suited for this trial?

A) A 28-year-old salesperson who alternates between overactivity and periods of depression

B) A 32-year-old hyperactive nursing student who cannot focus long enough to take a test

C) A 55-year-old physician who suddenly falls asleep during the day without warning

D) A 16-year-old youth who say he can make the light turn on by pointing at it and hears voices

Ans: B

Feedback:

Attention-deficit disorders involve various conditions characterized by an inability to concentrate on
one activity for longer than a few minutes. The nursing student needing accommodations has an
attention-deficit disorder. The salesperson exhibits signs of mania, which are characterized by periods
of extreme overactivity and excitement followed by extreme depression. The physician is experiencing
narcolepsy, which is defined as daytime sleepiness and sudden periods of loss of wakefulness. The
teenager is schizophrenic and is exhibiting paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions.

2. What nursing intervention is appropriate for a 70-year-old female patient receiving lithium?

A) Instruct the patient to use barrier contraceptives.

B) Monitor blood glucose levels.

C) Monitor fluid and sodium intake.

D) Encourage the patient to check daily for weight loss.

Ans: C

Feedback:

Older patients, and especially those with renal impairment, should be encouraged to maintain adequate
hydration and salt intake. Decreased dosages may also be necessary with the elderly. A 70-year-old
patient would not be concerned about the use of contraceptives. These drugs alone do not affect glucose
levels. Weight loss is usually not associated with lithium use.

Test Bank – Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (7th Edition by Amy Karch) 355

3. A nurse is caring for a patient who is taking lithium for mania. The nurse’s assessment includes a
notation of a lithium serum level of 2.4 mEq/L. The nurse anticipates seeing what?

A) Fine tremors of both hands

B) Slurred speech

C) Clonic movements

D) Nausea and vomiting

Ans: C

Feedback:

Serum levels of 2 to 2.5 mEq/L may produce ataxia, clonic movements, possible seizures, and
hypotension. Fine hand tremors, slurred speech, and nausea and vomiting are indicative of lithium
levels less than 1.5 mEq/L.

4. The nurse administers chlorpromazine intramuscularly to the preoperative patient who is extremely
anxious about surgery in the morning. What priority teaching point will the nurse provide this patient?

A) ​Remain recumbent for at least 30 minutes after the injection.​

B) ​Do not eat for 1 hour after the drug is administered.​

C) ​Encourage fluids with the goal of 3,000 mL/d.​

D) ​Avoid eating avocados and oranges when taking this medication.​

Ans: A

Feedback:

When giving a parenteral form of an antipsychotic, the patient should remain recumbent to decrease the
risk of injury if orthostatic hypotension occurs. Eating after drug injection should not interfere with the
drug’s absorption and although adequate hydration should be maintained there is no need to increase
fluid intake. Avocados and oranges are not contraindicated in patients receiving this medication.

5. The nurse is presenting an in-service at a children’s unit on hyperactivity. The nurse is told that a 6-
year-old on the unit is being treated with methylphenidate (Ritalin). The presenting nurse talks about
discharge teaching for this patient and the importance of monitoring what?

A) Long bone growth

B) Visual acuity

C) Weight and complete blood count

D) Urea and nitrogen levels

Ans: C

Feedback:

Methylphenidate is associated with weight loss, bone marrow suppression, and cardiac arrhythmias.
Weight, blood count, and cardiac function should be monitored regularly. The drug is not associated
with renal dysfunction, visual changes, or growth retardation, so those values would not need to be
regularly evaluated as part of drug therapy.