A 72-Year-Old Widow Has Just Returned Home After 2 Weeks

question 12

Multiple Choice

A 72-year-old widow has just returned home after 2 weeks in the hospital after a fall.She lives alone and is visited weekly by her son.She takes digoxin,hydrochlorothiazide,and an antihypertensive drug.She also has a prescription for diazepam (Valium) as needed for moderate to severe anxiety.When the visiting nurse stopped by 2 days after discharge,he found the woman confused and disoriented,with an unsteady gait.The patient asks him who the small people are who have been living in her house.The patient had not evidenced any of these symptoms at the time of discharge.Vital signs were unremarkable except for bradycardia.The nurse correctly deduces that the most likely cause for the changes seen in the patient is:

• A) delirium.
• B) dementia.
• C) amnestic syndrome.
• D) drug toxicity.

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Definitions:

Endocrine Glands

Glands in the body that release hormones directly into the bloodstream, regulating various bodily functions.

Motor Neurons

Nerve cells forming part of the nervous system that initiate and regulate the contraction of muscles.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter involved in regulating mood, sleep, appetite, and pain.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter and hormone involved in the body’s fight-or-flight response, affecting attention and responding actions.