Case Study #4
You have a 76 year old male patient who was just admitted to your unit. He has a long history of alcohol abuse. His last drink was two hours prior to admission
What are the physical symptoms you expect to see with this patient?
What will you monitor?
Your answer should focus on withdrawal symptoms from alcohol.
What medication do you expect to be ordered for this patient to help with the withdrawal from alcohol? Explain its purpose.
He tells you that he used to only drink 8 beers a night but he has been drinking 12 beers a night to get the same effect that he used to.
What is the name of this concept?
You ask if he has tried to stop drinking before. He says that he has but has not been successful because the urge to drink is too strong.
What is the name for this concept?
What are the additional problems this person is at risk for? Explain your answer.
You are a paramedic who just arrived on scene to find a young woman lying on the floor unresponsive. You see some drug paraphernalia next to her but are unsure of what type of drug she has ingested. You notice constricted pinpoint pupils when you shine your pen light into her eyes. Her BP is 70/30. Her respiration rate is 6.
What substance do you suspect she has ingested?
What medication do you think you should administer at this point, based on the scenario and why?
Assuming you are able to revive this patient and she is admitted to a hospital, what are the symptoms of withdrawal, based on the drug likely ingest, that you expect she will go through?
What medications might be administered once the patient has been revived? Explain why.
What are other possible conditions this person is at risk for developing or may possibly have? Explain your answer.
While completing an assessment of a 28-year-old patient being treated for pneumonia, he tells you he has a job, is self-reliant and smokes marijuana every other night but does not drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. The patient tells you, “Smoking a joint now and then doesn’t hurt anybody”.
Research this patient’s statement. Does smoking a joint now and then hurt anybody?
Click on the following article and read it: https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/myth-or-fact-marijuana-stronger-these-days
Then compare the marijuana risks with those of smoking tobacco products.
Are the physical effects of tobacco and marijuana the same? Explain your answer
