Prednisone is an oral corticosteroid that has less mineralocorticoid activity than other oral steroids. What does the nurse expect when giving this medication?

Choice A reason: SGLT-2 inhibitors, like empagliflozin, block sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 in the proximal tubule, preventing glucose reabsorption. This increases urinary glucose excretion, lowering blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. The mechanism is insulin-independent, reducing hyperglycemia and promoting weight loss, making this statement accurate for their primary action.

Choice B reason: SGLT-2 inhibitors do not interact with transcription factors to improve insulin sensitivity. This describes metformin’s action via AMPK activation in liver and muscle. SGLT-2 inhibitors act renally, not on transcription factors, making this statement inaccurate as it misattributes their mechanism to a different drug class.

Choice C reason: Inhibiting hepatic glucose production and increasing insulin sensitivity is metformin’s mechanism, not SGLT-2 inhibitors. SGLT-2 inhibitors work renally to excrete glucose, not by altering hepatic gluconeogenesis or peripheral insulin sensitivity. This statement is inaccurate, as it describes a different antidiabetic drug’s action.

Choice D reason: Blocking ATP-sensitive K+ channels is the mechanism of sulfonylureas, like glipizide, which stimulate insulin secretion from beta cells. SGLT-2 inhibitors act on renal glucose reabsorption, not beta cell channels. This statement is inaccurate, as it incorrectly assigns a sulfonylurea mechanism to SGLT-2 inhibitors.

Choice A reason: Crohn’s disease does not always spread to the liver. While it can cause liver complications like primary sclerosing cholangitis or fatty liver in some cases, this is not universal. This statement is inaccurate, as liver involvement is a complication, not a defining feature of Crohn’s disease.

Choice B reason: Crohn’s disease is characterized by a patchy, or “skip lesion,” pattern of bowel involvement, affecting any part of the gastrointestinal tract discontinuously. Inflammation is transmural, causing fistulas or strictures. This statement is accurate, as the patchy distribution is a hallmark distinguishing it from ulcerative colitis.

Choice C reason: Continuous bowel involvement is characteristic of ulcerative colitis, not Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s affects the bowel in a segmental, patchy manner, with healthy areas between lesions. This statement is inaccurate, as it incorrectly describes Crohn’s tissue involvement pattern, which is distinctly non-continuous.

Choice D reason: Crohn’s disease increases cardiovascular risk due to chronic inflammation, but stroke is not a well-established direct complication. Inflammatory markers may contribute to atherosclerosis, but stroke risk is less specific than patchy bowel involvement. This statement is inaccurate, as it overstates a specific stroke association.