Your patient is on the medication Lithium for bipolar I disorder. What major side effect should you monitor the patient for? ATI PHARMACOLOGY LATEST UPDATE 2022/2023 PROCTORED EXAM -STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS & ANS 100% CORRECTLY VERIFIED GRADED A+ ATI PHARMACOLOGY LATEST UPDATE 2022/2023 PROCTORED EXAM -STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS & ANS 100% CORRECTLY VERIFIED GRADED A+

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: One major side effect to monitor in a patient taking Lithium for bipolar I disorder is the risk of seizures. Lithium is known to lower the seizure threshold, increasing the likelihood of seizures occurring, especially if the patient has any pre-existing risk factors for seizures. Therefore, it is critical to closely monitor patients on Lithium for any signs or symptoms of seizures and promptly address them if they occur to prevent any complications. Monitoring lithium levels and maintaining them within the therapeutic range can also help reduce the risk of seizures.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: Hallucinations in a Parkinson's patient on levodopa/carbidopa suggest a medication-related issue. Drug toxicity is correct-levodopa increases dopamine, and excess in non-motor areas (e.g., mesolimbic) can cause hallucinations, especially with long-term use or dose accumulation. Overactivity at basal ganglia improves motor symptoms, not hallucinations. Subtherapeutic dosing would worsen motor control, not cause this. Dementia or infection (E) could contribute, but hallucinations align more with levodopa's known side effect profile. Carbidopa reduces peripheral effects, but central dopamine excess remains possible, making toxicity the likely culprit in this stable motor context.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: Penicillin is typically administered to adults intravenously (IV) when a rapid onset of action is needed, such as in cases of severe infections or when the medication needs to reach high concentrations in the bloodstream quickly to be effective. Intravenous administration allows for immediate delivery of the medication directly into the bloodstream, ensuring efficient and quick distribution throughout the body.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Lithium's mood-stabilizing effect in bipolar disorder involves inhibiting inositol monophosphatase, reducing inositol recycling and dampening overactive phosphoinositide signaling, a unique mechanism. Carbamazepine blocks sodium channels, not GABA facilitation (that's barbiturates). Ethosuximide inhibits T-type calcium channels in thalamic neurons, not sodium channels, to control absence seizures. Phenelzine, an MAOI, inhibits monoamine oxidase, not dopa decarboxylase (carbidopa does that). Procaine, a local anesthetic, blocks sodium channels, not T-type calcium channels. Lithium's inositol depletion is well-established, aligning with its therapeutic role and distinguishing it as the most accurate pairing here.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Albumin is a plasma protein that helps maintain the oncotic pressure in the blood vessels and prevents fluid from leaking out into the tissues. During an infusion of albumin, there is a risk of fluid volume overload, especially in patients with existing heart failure or kidney disease. The nurse must monitor the patient closely for signs and symptoms of fluid volume overload, such as edema, shortness of breath, crackles in the lungs, and increased blood pressure. Prompt recognition and management of fluid volume overload are essential to prevent complications such as pulmonary edema and worsening heart failure. Hypernatremia and fluid volume deficit are unlikely to occur during an albumin infusion, and a transfusion reaction is not associated with albumin administration.