Answer to Question 1
B
Catecholamines undergo rapid degradation by monoamine oxidase (MAO) and cate-chol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). Consequently, they have a brief duration of action, and con-tinuous infusion often is required to maintain the drug's effects. Catecholamines cannot be used orally. Catecholamines do not cross the blood-brain barrier; noncatecholamines do. Noncatecho-lamines are not degraded by MAO.
Answer to Question 2
A
Older adult patients often are undertreated for pain, because assessing pain is difficult in patients with cognitive impairment and because practitioners often believe that reduced dosages are ne-cessary to alleviate side effects. This patient does not verbalize pain, but her nonverbal cue (cry-ing) indicates that pain is present. The nurse should give the higher dose, especially because the dosing interval has already been exceeded, and then monitor the patient's response to the medi-cation. Giving 2 mg to avoid side effects is not indicated; patients with Alzheimer's disease will continue to have confusion unrelated to the opioid. Nonopioid analgesics and antidepressants are not indicated. Withholding pain medication is not appropriate, because this patient shows non-verbal signs of pain.
B, The nurse teaches the postoperative client to use an incentive spirometer to expand the lungs.
Patient teaching: ear assessment
Antiherpetic Drugs
Mechanisms of action of drugs used for heart failure.
Anti-Arrhythmic Drugs
Mechanisms of action of lipid-lowering drugs.