ATI RN
ATI Pharmacology Made Easy 4.0 Infection Questions
Question 1 of 5
Which statement is accurate regarding pharmacotherapy in the older adult?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Aging reduces liver/renal clearance, raising plasma levels (e.g., digoxin), heightening response and toxicity risk, per pharmacokinetics. Body water drops, concentrating drugs, not diluting. Doses decrease, not increase-metabolism slows. Absorption may slow, but pH rises, not falls. Plasma increase drives effects, key in elders.
Question 2 of 5
A 59-year-old man with a long history of cardiac arrhythmia is maintained on procainamide. He presents to his primary care physician complaining of malaise, fevers, and nausea. Physical examination reveals a bilateral malar rash with erythema. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Procainamide can induce a lupus-like syndrome . Symptoms (malaise, fever, nausea) and malar rash mimic SLE, a known side effect due to drug-induced autoantibodies. Contact dermatitis lacks systemic features. Sun reaction or discoid lupus don't fit the drug link. Collagen disease (E) is vague. This reversible syndrome resolves with discontinuation, distinguishing it from primary lupus.
Question 3 of 5
A 43-year-old man undergoes a kidney transplantation. His physician prescribes azathioprine for graft rejection prophylaxis. His past medical history is significant for gouty arthritis. Which of the following antigout drugs should he avoid while taking azathioprine?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Azathioprine, metabolized by xanthine oxidase, interacts with allopurinol , which inhibits this enzyme. This raises azathioprine levels, risking toxicity. Colchicine , Indomethacin , and Prednisolone don't affect this pathway. Probenecid (E) is safe. Avoiding allopurinol prevents immunosuppression complications.
Question 4 of 5
A 23-year-old man victim of a motor vehicle accident is brought to the emergency department. He is found to have a blood alcohol level of 850 mg/dL. Because of the way the body handles ethanol, the conventional 'half-life' to describe its metabolism does not apply. Which of the following drugs at therapeutic concentrations exhibits the same property?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Ethanol's zero-order metabolism matches phenytoin , saturating enzymes at therapeutic levels. Aspirin , ibuprofen , simvastatin , and valproic acid (E) follow first-order kinetics. Phenytoin's fixed-rate clearance mirrors ethanol's.
Question 5 of 5
Which antipsychotic agent has been most associated with significant QT interval prolongation and should be used with caution in patients with preexisting arrhythmias or patients taking other drugs associated with QT prolongation?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Thioridazine, a first-generation antipsychotic, potently blocks potassium channels, prolonging QT intervals and risking torsades de pointes, especially in patients with arrhythmias or on QT-prolonging drugs. This led to restricted use. Risperidone, asenapine, and lurasidone, second-generation agents, have milder QT effects. Aripiprazole is minimal. Thioridazine's strong association, evidenced by black box warnings, demands caution, making it the standout risk here.