Assignment Details
Examine Case Study: An Elderly Iranian Man With Alzheimer’s Disease. You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this client. Be sure to consider factors that might impact the client’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes.
- At each decision point stop to complete the following:
- Decision #1
- Which decision did you select?
- Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
- What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
- Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #1 and the results of the decision. Why were they different?
- Decision #2
- Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
- What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
- Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #2 and the results of the decision. Why were they different?
- Decision #3
- Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
- What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
- Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #3 and the results of the decision. Why were they different?
- Also include how ethical considerations might impact your treatment plan and communication with clients.
- Decision #1
ANSWER:
Mr. Akkad, a 76-year old Iranian male, was brought to the clinic for what his son termed as ‘strange behavior.’ He had been to a family physician who ruled out any organic basis for his behavior after all tests turned negative. Mr. Akkad’s son reported that his father had been demonstrating strange thoughts over the past two years, but the situation was getting worse over time. Mr. Akkad scored 18 out of 30 in a Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) conducted by the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP), indicating that he had a challenge in registration, attention, orientation, and recall. His condition suggested moderate dementia.
Dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) – like the one manifested by Mr. Akkad – is one of the most common types of dementia. According to Sharma (2019), AD destroys the brain by decreasing acetylcholine, which is crucial in memory, judgment, thought, and alertness. Sharma (2019) pointed out that cholinesterase inhibitors boosts the acetylcholine availability to the patient’s nerve cells. Ellis (2005) argued that galantamine hydrobromide, donepezil hydrochloride, and rivastigmine tartrate are the approved cholinesterase inhibitors. Importantly, Ellis (2005) argued that the inhibitors cannot reverse dementia and can only be used in managing the condition.
Decision 1
Based on the examinations conducted on the patient and considering his history, I will start by continue reading…