The nurse is reviewing antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy. Which statements about AED therapy are accurate? (Select all that apply)

AED therapy can be stopped when seizures are stopped.

AED therapy is usually lifelong.

Consistent dosing is the key to controlling seizures.

A dose may be skipped if the patient is experiencing adverse effects.

Do not abruptly discontinue AEDs because doing so may cause rebound seizure activity.

Answer and Explanation

Correct Answer : B,C,E

Choice A reason: Stopping AEDs when seizures stop is incorrect, as it risks rebound seizures due to unopposed neuronal excitability. Most patients require long-term therapy to maintain seizure control, especially in chronic epilepsy, guided by neurological evaluation.
Choice B reason: AED therapy is often lifelong for chronic epilepsy, as seizures result from persistent neuronal hyperexcitability. Maintaining therapeutic drug levels prevents recurrence, as the underlying neurological predisposition remains, requiring continuous management to stabilize brain activity.
Choice C reason: Consistent dosing maintains steady-state AED levels, preventing subtherapeutic concentrations that could trigger seizures. Fluctuations in drug levels disrupt neuronal stabilization, increasing seizure risk, making adherence to dosing schedules critical for effective epilepsy control.
Choice D reason: Skipping doses due to adverse effects is dangerous, as it lowers AED levels, increasing seizure risk. Adverse effects should be managed by consulting the provider to adjust doses or switch medications, not by skipping doses.
Choice E reason: Abruptly discontinuing AEDs can cause rebound seizures due to sudden loss of neuronal stabilization, leading to excitotoxicity. Gradual tapering under medical supervision is required to minimize withdrawal-induced seizures, making this a critical teaching point.

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Correct Answer is A

Explanation

Choice A reason: Skeletal traction uses pins or wires inserted into the bone to apply controlled force, aligning fractured bones (e.g., femur) to promote proper healing. This counteracts muscle pull, ensuring anatomical alignment and reducing the risk of malunion or deformity during the healing process.
Choice B reason: While traction may reduce some complications, its primary purpose is not preventing back pain or vague future issues. It focuses on immediate fracture alignment and stabilization, addressing the acute injury rather than long-term sequelae like chronic pain.
Choice C reason: Traction reduces muscle spasms by counteracting muscle contraction around the fracture, but this is a secondary benefit. The primary purpose is bone realignment, as spasms are a symptom of misalignment rather than the main issue addressed by traction.
Choice D reason: Minimizing damage from treatment is not the primary purpose of skeletal traction. While proper application prevents complications, the main goal is to align and stabilize the fracture to facilitate healing, not merely

A. There are rapid swings in the patient’s response to levodopa. B. The patient cannot tolerate the medications at times. C. The medications begin to lose effectiveness against Parkinson’s disease. D. The patient’s liver is no longer able to metabolize the drug.

Correct Answer is A

Explanation

Choice A reason: The wearing-off phenomenon in Parkinson’s occurs when levodopa’s effect diminishes before the next dose, causing symptom fluctuations. This results from progressive dopamine neuron loss, reducing storage capacity, and shorter levodopa half-life, leading to rapid swings in motor control as plasma levels fluctuate.
Choice B reason: Intolerance to medications may cause side effects (e.g., nausea), but the wearing-off phenomenon is due to disease progression and levodopa’s pharmacokinetics, not patient tolerance. Symptoms return as drug levels drop, not because of inability to tolerate the dose.
Choice C reason: Medications like levodopa remain effective, but wearing-off occurs due to shorter duration of action as Parkinson’s progresses, not loss of drug efficacy. Neuron loss reduces dopamine storage, causing symptoms to re-emerge between doses, not a failure of the drug itself.
Choice D reason: The liver metabolizes levodopa minimally; carbidopa prevents peripheral breakdown. Wearing-off is due to central nervous system changes (loss of dopamine neurons), not liver dysfunction, which does not significantly alter levodopa’s pharmacokinetics in Parkinson’s disease.

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The nurse is reviewing antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy. Which statements about AED therapy are accurate? (Select all that apply)

Nursing Test Bank

Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams

A nurse cares for a client placed in skeletal traction. The client asks, “What is the primary purpose of this type of traction?” How would the nurse respond?

Correct Answer is A

Explanation

When treating patients with medications for Parkinson’s disease, the nurse knows that the wearing-off phenomenon occurs for which reason?

Correct Answer is A

Explanation

The nurse assesses a client with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Sjögren syndrome. What assessment would be most important for this client?

A client asks the nurse about having a total knee arthroplasty to relieve joint pain. Which factor would place the client at the highest risk for impaired postoperative healing?

A nurse plans care for a client who has an external fixator on the lower leg. Which intervention would the nurse include in the plan of care to decrease the client’s risk for infection?

A client is prescribed celecoxib for joint pain. What statement by the client indicates a need for further teaching?

What is an appropriate nursing action when a child is experiencing a generalized tonic-clonic seizure?

The nurse assesses a client after a total hip arthroplasty. The client’s surgical leg is visibly shorter than the other one and the client reports extreme pain. While a co-worker calls the surgeon, what action by the nurse is appropriate?

A pediatric nurse is assisting with the care of a child diagnosed with a fractured femur. What type of fracture would be the most likely to alert the nurse to the possibility of physical abuse?

A nurse is performing discharge teaching for a client who has seizures and a new prescription for phenytoin. Which of the following statements by the client indicates a need for further teaching?