The wife of a client currently hospitalized in an extreme manic ...

[RYAN BANYAN]

The wife of a client currently hospitalized in an extreme manic state is worried about her husband's physical health. She asks the nurse how to tell if the dose of lithium is therapeutic.
 
  Which of the following responses by the nurse provides accurate information?
  A) Lithium levels will be therapeutic as long as your husband takes the medicine as ordered.
  B) Lithium levels will need to be individualized several times a week based on your husband's symptoms.
  C) Lithium levels will need to be checked every 2 months once stabilized to make certain.
  D) Lithium levels will become therapeutic in about 5 to 6 weeks.

Question 2

You are caring for Adriana, a psychiatricmental health client who has just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The physician has ordered medication for Adriana. Which class of medications, if prescribed, would the nurse question?
 
  You are caring for Adriana, a psychiatricmental health client who has just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The physician has ordered medication for Adriana. Which class of medications, if prescribed, would the nurse question?

[yasmina]

Answer to Question 1

Ans: C
Feedback:
For maintenance therapy, the lithium serum level should be 0.6 to 1.2 mEq/L; serum levels should be monitored every 2 months when the patient is stabilized.

Answer to Question 2

Ans: D
Feedback:
Mood stabilizers are the primary drugs used for bipolar disorders. They include lithium, anticonvulsants, and atypical antipsychotics (often combined with lithium or anticonvulsants). Although some clients require an antidepressant as an adjuvant, the APA Guideline (2002) recommends discontinuation of antidepressants as soon as possible in clients with bipolar disorders, because these drugs may induce a switch to mania.