A 68-year-old patient is diagnosed with moderate dementia after ...

[robinn137]

A 68-year-old patient is diagnosed with moderate dementia after multiple strokes. During assessment of the patient, the nurse would expect to find
 
  a. excessive nighttime sleepiness.
  b. difficulty eating and swallowing.
  c. loss of recent and long-term memory.
  d. fluctuating ability to perform simple tasks.

Question 2

The nurse is administering a mental status examination to a 48-year-old patient who has hypertension. The nurse suspects depression when the patient responds to the nurse's questions with
 
  a. Is that right?
  b. I don't know.
  c. Wait, let me think about that.
  d. Who are those people over there?

[stanleka1]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: C
Loss of both recent and long-term memory is characteristic of moderate dementia. Patients with dementia have frequent nighttime awakening. Dementia is progressive, and the patient's ability to perform tasks would not have periods of improvement. Difficulty eating and swallowing is characteristic of severe dementia.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
Answers such as I don't know are more typical of depression than dementia. The response Who are those people over there? is more typical of the distraction seen in a patient with delirium. The remaining two answers are more typical of a patient with mild to moderate dementia.