Author Question: A patient with schizophrenia has been stable for a year; however, the family now reports the patient ... (Read 61 times)

wenmo · **on:** Jul 19, 2018

A patient with schizophrenia has been stable for a year; however, the family now reports the patient is tense, sleeps 3 to 4 hours per night, and has difficulty concentrating. The patient says, Volmers are hiding in the house.

The nurse can correctly assess this information as an indication of:

a. need for psychoeducation
b. medication noncompliance
c. chronic deterioration
d. relapse

Question 2

What assessment findings mark the prodromal stage of schizophrenia?

a. Withdrawal, misinterpreting, poor concentration, and preoccupation with religion
b. Auditory hallucinations, ideas of reference, thought insertion, and broadcasting
c. Stereotyped behavior, echopraxia, echolalia, and waxy flexibility
d. Loose associations, concrete thinking, and echolalia neologisms

itsakadoozi · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 19, 2018

Answer to Question 1

ANS: D
Signs of potential relapse include feeling tense, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, increased withdrawal, and increased bizarre or magical thinking. Medication noncompliance may not be implicated. Relapse can occur even when the patient is regularly taking his or her medication. Psychoeducation is more effective when the patient's symptoms are stable. Chronic deterioration is not the best explanation.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: A
Withdrawal, misinterpreting, poor concentration, and preoccupation with religion are prodromal symptoms, which are the symptoms present before the development of florid symptoms. The incorrect options each list the positive symptoms of schizophrenia that might be apparent during the acute stage of the illness.