The nurse is teaching a class for patients who have been recently ...

[Awilson837]

The nurse is teaching a class for patients who have been recently diagnosed with epilepsy. The nurse determines that learning has occurred when the patients make which statements?
 
  1. Excessive stress levels cause disruptions in how the brain receives oxygen, leading to epilepsy.
  2. Epilepsy may be caused by a head injury.
  3. Eating disorders, like anorexia nervosa, increase the risk for developing epilepsy.
  4. A stroke, or brain attack, could increase the risk for developing epilepsy.
  5. With some cases of epilepsy, the cause is never determined.

Question 2

A parent says to the nurse, The doctor prescribed ethosuximide (Zarontin) for my child, who has absence seizures. What does this mean? What is the best response by the nurse?
 
  1. Absence seizures are basically the same kind of seizures as grand mal, but they are less frequent.
  2. Your daughter's seizures manifest as a staring into space for a few seconds. Ethosuximide (Zarontin) is a good medication for this type of seizure.
  3. Explaining the types of seizure activity is complicated. Have you spoken to your doctor about it?
  4. Are you sure your doctor prescribed ethosuximide (Zarontin)? Phenobarbital (Luminal) is used much more frequently with children.

[smrtceo]

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 2,4,5
Rationale: Epilepsy is a disorder where seizures occur on a chronic basis. Head trauma is a known cause of seizures. In some cases, the exact etiology may not be identified. Changes in cerebral perfusion such as hypotension, strokes or brain attacks, and shock may be causes of seizures. There is no known correlation with anorexia nervosa and the development of epilepsy. Excessive levels of stress cannot disrupt cerebral oxygen to the extent that epilepsy would occur.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 2
Rationale: Absence seizures, formerly known as petit mal, last a few seconds and are seen most often in children. Ethosuximide (Zarontin) is a drug of choice for this type of seizure disorder. Grand mal, or tonic-clonic, seizures are different from absence or petite mal seizures; they are different forms of epilepsy. Ethosuximide (Zarontin), not phenobarbital (Luminal), is the drug of choice for absence seizures. It is the responsibility of the RN to educate the patient, not just refer questions to the physician.

[Awilson837]

Excellent

[epscape]

TYSM