The PMHNP is treating a 45-year-old woman with a 30-year history of treatment-resistant depression who has tried every available medication, with little success. Today, the patient states that she is having suicidal ideation but has no plan. Which treatment option would the PMHNP discuss with her?
Electroconvulsive therapy
Exposure therapy
A support group
Exercise
The Correct Answer is A
Choice A reason: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for severe, treatment-resistant depression, particularly when multiple medication trials have failed. ECT can rapidly reduce suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms and is indicated in cases where there is high clinical urgency.
Choice B reason: Exposure therapy is primarily used to treat anxiety disorders, phobias, and PTSD, not major depressive disorder, and would not be effective in this context.
Choice C reason: Support groups provide emotional support and social connection but are not sufficient as a primary intervention for severe, treatment-resistant depression with suicidal ideation.
Choice D reason: Exercise can improve mood and has adjunctive benefits for mild to moderate depression, but it is not an effective treatment for severe, chronic, or treatment-resistant depression, especially with suicidal ideation.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Williams syndrome presents with distinctive “elfin” facial features, cardiovascular anomalies, and overly friendly behavior, not the described features.
Choice B reason: Rett syndrome primarily affects girls and involves loss of purposeful hand skills, language regression, and stereotypic hand movements.
Choice C reason: Fragile X syndrome is characterized by intellectual disability, long face, large ears, midface hypoplasia, hyperextensible joints, and short stature, matching this patient’s presentation.
Choice D reason: Turner syndrome affects females and is characterized by short stature, webbed neck, and gonadal dysgenesis, not the features described.
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A reason: Lewy body dementia presents with cognitive fluctuations, visual hallucinations, and parkinsonism, but the acute onset of myoclonus and multifocal MRI findings are not typical.
Choice B reason: Alzheimer’s disease presents with gradual cognitive decline rather than sudden onset of ataxia and myoclonus, making it less likely.
Choice C reason: Huntington’s disease is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder with chorea, psychiatric symptoms, and gradual cognitive decline, not acute multifocal neurologic deficits.
Choice D reason: Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a prion disease characterized by rapidly progressive dementia, myoclonus, ataxia, and characteristic MRI and EEG findings, matching this patient’s presentation.
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