Chapter 3: Sources and Bodily Effects of Drugs

d. Remove the old patch and apply the new one at the same time daily as prescribed.

A client is prescribed a transdermal patch for angina. What would be an appropriate instruction to the client?

d. In a drug interaction, one drug may interact with another to increase, decrease, or cancel out the effects of the other drug

A client treated for diverticulitis is starting on a new diet regime. He is concerned about how his restricted diet will interact with his medications. What can the health care practitioner explain about drug interactions?

a. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion

A health care practitioner is reviewing pharmacokinetics, the study of drugs and the biological processes in which drugs move through the body. Which of the following describes the four processes involved in pharmacokinetics in the correct order?

d. Lethal dose

A health care practitioner knows that safety when dispensing medication is extremely important and recognizes that different dosages of a drug bring variations in the speed of action or effectiveness. Her client comments that he thinks he will be cured if he takes his medication all at once. How does the health care practitioner define this level of dosage?

a. Intravenous

A nurse is reviewing the orders for her client in a nursing home. One drug is to be given parenterally. Which route of administration would be considered parenteral?

b. Intravenous

A student is studying for her medication exam and knows that the fastest route to give a medication in an emergency situation is which of the following?

a. You should give the prescribed dose for the prescribed length of time, which is calculated to your child's weight.

A young mother is nervous about giving an antibiotic to her child for the first time. The mother asks the health care practitioner about the appropriate dosage for her child's ear infection. How should the health care practitioner respond?

c. Loading dose

An older adult client is being started on a new cardiac medication. The health care practitioner explains that the initial dose will be higher than the daily dose that she will continue indefinitely. What does the health care practitioner define the initial dose as?

b. The medication should have no interaction with the client's other medications, because this is absorbed locally at the site of the hemorrhoids.

An older adult client is being treated for hemorrhoids and asks the health care practitioner whether her topical ointment cream will interact with her other medications. What can the health care practitioner tell her?

d. A toxic effect can develop even with properly dosed or small amounts of a drug.

The nurse is administering theophylline to her older adult client who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She knows that this medication has a narrow therapeutic range; therefore, the goal is to give just enough of the drug to cause the desired therapeutic effect. What should the nurse be aware of?

b. Cumulative effect

In caring for a client with end-stage renal disease, the health care practitioner knows that if a drug is not excreted properly before additional doses are given, there may be a potential effect. What is this effect?

c. It is acceptable to take the drug with either method; the amount of the drug absorbed depends on a variety of factors such as stomach pH and motility.

The client is prescribed an antibiotic for a streptococcal infection and asks the health care practitioner whether the medicine should be taken with food or on an empty stomach. How should the health care practitioner respond?

c. Metabolism phase

The health care practitioner caring for a client with cirrhosis of the liver knows that the client could potentially have difficulty in processing drugs. What phase does the health care practitioner identify as the potential problem?

c. Age and weight

The health care practitioner is preparing a presentation for the community health fair. She is giving a lecture on medications and the many variables that affect the efficiency of drugs being processed by the body. Which of the following is considered a variable?

b. Many sources of drugs or chemicals affect the body, including plants, animals, minerals, and synthetic and recombinant DNA.

While receiving discharge instructions after a hepatitis B vaccine, the client asks the health care practitioner if the injection is considered a drug. How would the health care practitioner respond?