A 22-year-old patient seen at the health clinic with a severe ...

[student77]

A 22-year-old patient seen at the health clinic with a severe migraine headache tells the nurse about having other similar headaches recently. Which initial action should the nurse take?
 
  a. Teach about the use of triptan drugs.
  b. Refer the patient for stress counseling.
  c. Ask the patient to keep a headache diary.
  d. Suggest the use of muscle-relaxation techniques.

Question 2

When a 74-year-old patient is seen in the health clinic with new development of a stooped posture, shuffling gait, and pill rollingtype tremor, the nurse will anticipate teaching the patient about
 
  a. oral corticosteroids.
  b. antiparkinsonian drugs.
  c. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  d. electroencephalogra m (EEG) testing.

[succesfull]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: C
The initial nursing action should be further assessment of the precipitating causes of the headaches, quality, and location of pain, etc. Stress reduction, muscle relaxation, and the triptan drugs may be helpful, but more assessment is needed first.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
The diagnosis of Parkinson's is made when two of the three characteristic manifestations of tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia are present. The confirmation of the diagnosis is made on the basis of improvement when antiparkinsonian drugs are administered. This patient has symptoms of tremor and bradykinesia. The next anticipated step will be treatment with medications. MRI and EEG are not useful in diagnosing Parkinson's disease, and corticosteroid therapy is not used to treat it.