answer discussion 1 pharma

Respond: your colleagues, respectfully agree or disagree with your colleague’s assessment and explain your reasoning. In your explanation, include why their explanations make physiological sense or why they do not

Respond in 2 paragraphs with 4 to 6 sentences. References minimum 3, and not more than 5 years ago.

As a nurse who works at a long-term care facility, I have been involved in the care and treatment of different patients. The patients are 60 and older and most of them present with some mental and neurological disorders. Some of the disorders include dementia, anxiety, and depression. Most of the patients have a diagnosis of dementia, anxiety, and depression and are on medication for all the diagnosis. The one particular patient that I am going to talk about is an 80-year-old Caucasian female who is diagnosed with a neurological disorder, dementia. This patient has no known allergies. The patient has a history of hypertension, depression, and diabetes. The patients presents with increased anxiety, aggressive with staff members, and is wandering in and out of other patient’s rooms. Patient is taking Sodium Valproate (Depakote) 250mg twice a day, Olanzapine (Zyprexa) 10mg at bedtime, Escitalopram (Lexapro) 5mg once a day, and Memantine (Namenda) 10mg at bedtime. Patient also has Alprazolam (Xanax) 2.5mg as needed every 6 hours. When assessing the patient, she is very agitated and is being very aggressive with the staff. The patient is given her PRN Alprazolam (Xanax) 2.5mg and after about an hour she calms down and gets very sleepy, so she is assisted back to her room, and she is closely monitored for the rest of the shift. Neurological disorders are medically defined as disorders that affect the brain as well as the nerves found throughout the human body and the spinal cord (“Neurological Disorders”). Neurological diseases are frequent in older adults, affecting between 5% and 55% of people aged 55 and older (Callixte et al. 2015). Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are the relationship with the drug and the body. Pharmacokinetics is the study of drug movement throughout the body (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2021). Pharmacodynamics is the study of the biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs on the body and the molecular mechanisms by which those effects are produced (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2021). In older adults their metabolism is slow so this would cause slower gastric emptying, and this would change the way the drug is absorbed. Older adults will absorb a drug differently than a younger person. The plan of care for this patient would include continue monitoring and reassessment of the patient. Also, assessment of adverse effects of the use of antipsychotic drugs, antianxiety drugs, and antidepressant drugs. Also, creating a therapeutic environment for the patient by providing ways to alleviate agitation and lessen the aggressive behavior towards the staff members by using non-pharmacological methods like letting the patient participate in activities to get her mind off things. This could help make a safe environment for not only the patient but for the staff members and other patients as well.

Reference

Callixte, K. T., Clet, T. B., Jacques, D., Faustin, Y., François, D. J., & Maturin, T. T. (2015). The pattern of neurological diseases in elderly people in outpatient consultations in Sub-Saharan Africa. BMC research notes, 8, 159. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-015-1116-x

 

Neurological Disorders. (n.d.). Montana DPHHS. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://dphhs.mt.gov/schoolhealth/chronichealth/neurologicaldisorders

 

Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2021). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants (2nd ed.) St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.