A Patient Is to Begin Taking Phenytoin [Dilantin] for Seizures

question 8

Multiple Choice

A patient is to begin taking phenytoin [Dilantin] for seizures. The patient tells the nurse that she is taking oral contraceptives. What will the nurse tell the patient?

• A) She may need to increase her dose of phenytoin while taking oral contraceptives.
• B) She should consider a different form of birth control while taking phenytoin.
• C) She should remain on oral contraceptives, because phenytoin causes birth defects.
• D) She should stop taking oral contraceptives, because they reduce the effectiveness of phenytoin.

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Definitions:

Granitic Intrusion

The forced entry of magma composed mainly of quartz and feldspar into surrounding rock, cooling and solidifying to form granite.

Salt Dome

A type of geological structure formed when a thick bed of evaporite minerals (mainly salt) found at depth intrudes vertically into surrounding rock layers.

Volcanic Conduit

A pipe-like structure through which magma moves from a magma chamber to the Earth's surface.

Diamond Pipe

A steep, cylindrical- to funnel-shaped volcanic conduit that contains diamonds dispersed in an igneous rock; synonym kimberlite pipe.