NR 508 Complete Week Project Essay Discussions Package
NR 508 Complete Week Project Essay Discussions Package
NR 508 Week 1 Discussions Latest
Discussion Part One (graded)
Emily, a relatively healthy 5’5”, 32-year-old young woman weighing 190 pounds, presents to your clinic with hirsutism, anovulation, oligomenorrhea, and at times amenorrhea. Biochemical blood tests reveal elevated luteinizing hormone (LH, without a mid-cycle surge) and androgen elevation.
She mentions that she also has a family history of irregular cycles, and that her grandmother experienced early menopause. She also states that she is sexually active, occasionally smokes (1 pack/month), and desires to be prescribed one medication to mitigate her symptoms, as well as, prevent her from becoming pregnant.
- Please provide a list of differential diagnoses, as well as an indication of your primary diagnosis.
- Once this has been completed, please indicate and describe your chosen pharmacological treatment with inclusion of dose and mechanism of action of your chosen prescription.
Discussion Part Two
You diagnose Emily with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and decide to prescribe drospirenone-ethinyl-estradiol as a way to control both the PCOS symptoms, as well as to act as an oral contraceptive.
- At what dose should this be prescribed?
- What is the mechanism of drospirenone-ethinyl-estradiol, and why would, because of its mechanism, it be a good choice for her PCOS symptoms (Include the medication-altered physiology)?
- How would you monitor for efficacy and toxicity?
At what dose should this be prescribed?
Discussion Part Three (graded)
Emily subsequently returns to your clinic 5 months later, and decides to inform you that within the first 3 months after treatment, she struggled with a severe bout of depression. Instead of returning to your clinic to be prescribed, yet another pharmaceutical, she consulted her herbalist who told her about the anti-depressant, over-the-counter, herbal formulation, St. John’s Wort. She decided to begin taking St. John’s Wort in conjunction with her prescribed oral contraceptive medication, and she has now reappeared at your clinic because she is pregnant, and is distraught about how this occurred since she took her oral contraceptive compliantly since its prescription.
- Why then, is she pregnant?
- Please include detailed pharmacological mechanisms of how this occurred, and your subsequent steps in her management.
NR 508 Week 2 Discussions Latest
Discussion Part One (graded)
Cynthia is a 65-year-old African American female who presents to the clinic for a check-up. Her last examination was ~5 years ago. She has no specific, significant, or urgent complaint. She explains that her only issues are thirst, fatigue, and leg numbness and tingling, which is beginning to occur more often. You decide to do a physical exam, as well as draw labs and receive the following results:
| Social history: no smoking or alcohol consumption. |
| Physical examination: |
| GEN: well nourished, slightly obese female |
| VS: BP 180/103 HR 73 RR 13 T 98.4 Weight 90 kg, Height 5’6” |
| HEENT: PERRLA |
| COR: RRR, NMRG |
| CHEST: CTA |
| NEURO: monofilament test shows decreased peripheral sensation |
| EXT: normal |
| Laboratory (fasting): |
| Na 139 mEq/L |
| K 3.8 mEq/L |
| ALT 34 U/L |
| Ca 9.1 mg/dL |
| CL 102 mmol/L |
| HCO3 22 mEq/L |
| AST 39 U/L |
| TP 6 g/dL |
| BUN 33 mg/dL |
| SCr 2.0 mg/dL |
| Alb 4.1 g/dL |
| Cholesterol 254 mg/dL |
| BG 300 mg/dL |
| TSH 0.12 mU/mL |
| UA: SG 1.013 mg/24h, pH 6.5, +++ protein |
What are the major problems in this patient, and what diagnoses do these values indicate?
Additionally, what is your assessment and pharmacological plan for each of these problems including the medication, dose, and mechanism of action?
Discussion Part Two (graded)
Cynthia has been prescribed a plethora of medications. How will you properly monitor each medication for efficacy and toxicity? Are you concerned with any drug-drug interactions? If so, what are they, and what is the mechanism of the interaction?
Discussion Part Three (graded)
Given Cynthia’s increased creatinine and renal deterioration, metformin is probably not optimal in this case. Therefore, upon subsequent visits, you decide to start her on a sulfonylurea. She reappears in your clinic fairly soon thereafter with complaints of shakiness, sweating, chills, clamminess, lightheadedness, and a moderately severe headache.
• What is the diagnosis given these symptoms and the medications she is currently taking from Parts One and Two, and how would you proceed?
• At this point, please also be sure to also provide an accurate summary of Cynthia’s medication plan.
NR 508 Week 3 Discussions Latest
Discussion Part One (graded)
Elliot is a 74 year-old male who presents to your clinic with complaints of frequent nosebleeds (4 in the past week) and several severe bruises scattered variously throughout his anatomy. The patient is also complaining of a runny nose, cough, and head/chest congestion. He has a history of chronic atrial fibrillation and is currently prescribed and taking warfarin. Approximately 3 weeks previously, he started taking over-the-counter cimetidine for heartburn he was experiencing. Below is a list of the patient’s medications, his physical examination, and his laboratory findings:
| Medications | |
| Digoxin 0.25 mg QD | Cimetidine OTC BID |
| Pseudoephedrine SR 120 BID | Warfarin 7 mg QD |
| Allergies: NKDA | |
| Physical Examination | |
| VS: BP: 180/95, HR 75, irregularly irregular, RR 17Weight: 95 kg | HEENT: WNL |
| ABD: + Bowel Sounds | EXT: Bruising on arms and legs |
| NEURO: Alert & Oriented x 3 | GEN: Well developed, well-nourished male |
| ECG: atrial fibrillation | |
| Laboratory | |
| Na 143 mEq/L | K 4.5 mEq/L |
| Cl 99 mmol/L | CO2 25 mEq/L |
| BUN 18 mg/dL | SCr 0.9 mg/dL |
| INR 4.8 | Hct 42% |
| Hbg 15 mg/dL | Digoxin 3.8 ng/ml |
- What problems should be identified in this patient?
- What are the precise mechanisms of action of each drug?
- What do you think is contributing to the patient’s hypertension?
- Are there any drug interactions that you can identify as associated with this current drug regimen, and if so how, mechanistically, are they occurring?
- What is the clinical significance of these interactions?
Discussion Part Two
You have decided to have him stop the pseudoephedrine related to his hypertension, as well as the cimetidine related to its interaction with warfarin. The patient returns for his monthly follow-up appointment, and it is noticed that his blood pressure (195/80) has not come under control. You decide to start him on hydrochlorothiazide.
- Is there a better medication than a thiazide, and if so what dose should you initiate this medication?
- How would you proceed, and how you would monitor for efficacy and toxicity?
Discussion Part Three
He returns a month later complaining of increased fatigue, visual disturbances, weakness, and nausea; however, his ECG is normal.
Based on this information, what is occurring in this patient? Include precise mechanism(s) of how it is occurring.
Additionally, please include any drug interactions associated with any new medications initiated keeping in mind the current regimen.
NR 508 Week 4 Discussions Latest
Discussion Part One (graded)
Barbara is a married 39-year-old woman with no children, smokes 1 pack/day, and weighs 180 pounds who has scheduled an appointment with you to discuss feelings of anhedonia that she has been experiencing for the past few months. She has a history of depression as a teenager, but has not needed or received therapy for ~20 years. At the appointment, she relays that she has been experiencing chronic fatigue/loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, appetite disturbances, weight gain, inability to concentrate, psychomotor disturbances, and insomnia.
- Please provide a list of differential diagnoses, as well as an indication of your primary diagnosis.
- Once this has been completed, please indicate and describe your chosen pharmacological treatment with inclusion of dose and mechanism of action of your chosen prescription.
Discussion Part Two (graded)
Monitoring for efficacy and toxicity of the current drug regimen you prescribed in Part One
Subsequent steps if this patient did not have an adequate response?
Assume you had her on a common, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor for several months without great response. Explain why the SSRI should be slowly discontinued prior to starting bupropion in Part Three.
Discussion Part Three
You decide to begin the patient on bupropion.
- At what dose should she be started on bupropion, and how does bupropion differ from other commonly prescribed antidepressants, such as fluoxetine, venlafaxine, and nortriptyline?
- Why would this be the best option for this patient given her symptoms and lifestyle? In your answer, be sure to compare and contrast bupropion with each medication mentioned above (fluoxetine, venlafaxine, and nortriptyline).
NR 508 Week 5 Discussions Latest
Discussion Part One (graded)
Leroy is a 70 year-old-man, whose wife passed away 5 years ago, and whose 2 children live out-of–state. His neighbor caretaker (Ms. Webb, a middle-aged retired CNA, whom his children hired to provide home care to him 3x/week) brings him to your clinic. He presents with quite severe confusion, incidentally to very minor changes in his environment, which provokes some violence (a symptom which startles Ms. Webb), increasingly impaired judgment, and increasing repetitiousness and inconsistencies in his usual behavior. Upon initial work-up and physical exam, you notice an increased respiratory rate, a slight fever (100°F), and cost vertebral angle tenderness on his right side.
Discussion Part Two (graded)
The patient is diagnosed with a severe urinary tract infection (pyelonephritis), and you decide to prescribe him sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (SMX/TMP) beginning with 2 g initially as a loading dose, followed by 1 g as a maintenance dose BID. Over the next couple of weeks, the symptoms associated with his UTI diminish, and his mental status improves. However, Ms. Webb brings him back to your clinic with symptoms, which scare her yet again, and she explains that she thinks he may have a relapse of his UTI. These symptoms include a high fever (103.6°F) and tachypnea, and upon pulmonary examination at your clinic, you hear crackles, and find classic findings of lung consolidation.
- What laboratory tests should you order, and what is your primary diagnosis at this point and subsequent steps in his treatment and management?
- Once explained, please indicate and describe your chosen pharmacological treatment with inclusion of dose and mechanism of action of your chosen prescription.
Discussion Part Three
Upon receipt of laboratory results, you notice that his eGFR is ~40mL/min, his serum creatinine is 3.0 mg/dl, and his BUN is 50 mg/dl.
- How will the medication regimen(s) have to be adjusted given these new laboratory findings, and how should you be monitoring for efficacy and toxicity of this patient’s pharmacological profile with a summary of where this patient currently stands in his medical treatment?
NR 508 Week 6 Discussions Latest
Discussion Part One (graded)
Jonathon is a 56 year-old retired automobile mechanic who has not been to the doctor in approximately 6-7 years. He presents to your office complaining that 3 weeks ago he was awoken with severe pain and inflammation in his knee, which has been consistent since that initial night. Upon physical examination of his knee, it appears swollen and erythematous with periarticular involvement. Upon physical examination and laboratory results you notice the following:
| Physical examination: |
| GEN: well nourished, obese male (310 pounds) |
| VS: BP 191/112 HR 75 RR 15 T 98.6, HT 5’8” |
| EXT: Knee joint inflammation |
| Laboratory (fasting): |
| Na 139 mEq/L |
| K 3.8 mEq/L |
| Ca 9.1 mg/dL |
| CL 102 mmol/L |
| HCO3 22 mEq/L |
| BUN 10 mg/dL |
| SCr 0.9 mg/dL |
| Serum Uric Acid 6.5 mg/dL |
| Alb 4.1 g/dL |
| Cholesterol 300 mg/dL |
| UA: pH 6.8, uric acid 250 mg/24h |
What problems can be identified in this patient? Please provide a list of differential diagnoses, as well as indication of your primary diagnosis.
What is your pharmacological plan for your primary diagnosis including the medication, dose, and mechanism of action?
Discussion Part Two (graded)
He returns to your clinic for follow-up blood work, and 4 values catch your attention:
| AST 430 U/L |
| ALT 535 U/L |
| Bilirubin 41 mg/dl |
| BG 60 mg/dl |
He admits to a history of moderate-to-high alcohol intake (>12 drinks/week for >10 years). He is slightly febrile (99.7°F) and has abdominal tenderness. He also admits to taking several, different over-the-counter pain relievers of different brands daily and continuously to combat the pain in his knee, in addition to his prescription(s) in Part One. You decide to run a toxicology lab, and it reveals a blood acetaminophen concentration of 58 µg/mL.
- What is the diagnosis at this point in his case? Please explain the mechanism for how this occurs/occurred, and the antidote’s mechanism of action.
- What is the subsequent management and treatment for this individual related to the diagnosis in Part One.
Discussion Part Three (graded)
This is your third time seeing this patient, and he reports the NSAID that he has been prescribed is not addressing his pain. He reports his pain is a 10 out of 10, HR 108, talking extremely fast, he is diaphoretic, unshaved, his clothes are a bit wrinkled and he is requesting that you prescribe him Percocet because he doesn’t think Tramadol, that you are considering prescribing, will work.
- What are the possible signs of prescription drug abuse?
- What should the NP do when a patient has continued to return?
NR 508 Week 7 Discussions Latest
Discussion Part One (graded)
Adam is an active, healthy 5’10” 34 year-old man weighing 145 pounds. He presents to your clinic with complaints of wheezing, dyspnea, cough, and sputum production, especially when running. He informs you that he is an avid marathon runner competing in one to two 5 or 10K runs per month. He tells you that he is symptomatic more than 2 times per week, but less that 1 times per day, and nighttime symptoms hardly ever occur. He also adds that his symptoms can get worse after and sometimes during his runs, especially when the outside temperature drops below 50°F.
- Please provide a list of differential diagnoses, as well as indication of your primary diagnosis.
- What is your pharmacological plan for your primary diagnosis including the medication, dose, and mechanism of action?
Discussion Part Two (graded)
Your patient returns to your office 4 weeks following his initial appointment in Part one with only moderate reduction in symptomology and an increase in nightly symptoms to 1 time per week. Upon closer inspection of his medical records you notice that he has also been prescribed metoprolol (25 mg/day extended release) for uncontrolled familial hypertension.
- What is the mechanism of action of metoprolol, and why is this an important issue in this patient? Be sure to contrast the differences between your prescribed/discussed medication in Parts One and the metoprolol just discovered. Also, include your new patient plan with medication changes and details of dose and mechanism of action.
Discussion Part Three (graded)
How would you monitor for efficacy and toxicity of the current drug regimen you prescribed in Part One, and what would be your subsequent steps if this patient did not have an adequate response?