Answer to Question 1
D
In large doses, caffeine produces nervousness and tremors; in very large doses, it can cause sei-zures. This patient has been drinking concentrated energy drinks which are high in caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant and produces CNS excitation, not depression. Although cardiac side ef-fects are common with caffeine, cardiac arrest is not. Respiratory failure is not an effect of caffeine toxicity.
Answer to Question 2
C
A drug with a narrow therapeutic range is more difficult to administer safely, because the differ-ence between the minimum effective concentration and the toxic concentration is small. Patients taking these medications must have their plasma drug levels monitored closely to ensure that they are getting an effective dose that is not toxic. Administering medications at longer intervals only increases the time required to reach effective plasma drug levels. Drugs that have a narrow therapeutic range may be given by any route and do not differ from other medications in the amount of time it takes for them to take effect, which is a function of a drug's half-life and dos-ing frequency.
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Drugs for Hypertensive Emergency
Orange section of the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG).