A Patient Who Has Been Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

question 6

Multiple Choice

A patient who has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for 1 month and has generalized symptoms is taking high-dose nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and an oral glucocorticoid. The provider has ordered methotrexate [Rheumatrex]. The patient asks the nurse why methotrexate is necessary since pain and swelling have been well controlled with the other medications. The nurse will tell the patient that:

• A) a methotrexate regimen can reduce overall costs and side effects of treatment.
• B) starting methotrexate early can help delay joint degeneration.
• C) starting methotrexate now will help increase life expectancy.
• D) with methotrexate, doses of NSAIDs can be reduced to less toxic levels.

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Definitions:

Independent Event

An independent event is an event whose outcome is not influenced by the outcome of another event; in probability, this means that the occurrence of one event does not change the probability of another.

Standardized Z Values

Values resulting from the standardization process that measures the number of standard deviations a data point is from the mean of its distribution.

Probability

An evaluation of event occurrence likelihood, represented as a numerical value ranging between 0 and 1.

Standard Normal Table

A reference table that provides the area under the curve of the standard normal distribution, often used to find probabilities and critical values.