A patient in the emergency department developed stroke symptoms one hour ago. Which type of drug will the nurse expect to administer to resolve this problem?

Question

a. Thrombolytic
b. Thrombin inhibitor
c. Antiplatelet drug
d. Clotting factor synthesis inhibitor

Answer 1

A
When an ischemic stroke occurs there is an existing clot in an artery in the brain. To resolve this problem early after symptoms develop, a thrombolytic drug (clot buster) is prescribed. These drugs must be administered within 3 hours of the onset of symptoms for stroke. Thrombin inhi-bitors and clotting factor synthesis inhibitors prevent new clots from forming and existing clots from getting larger. Antiplatelet drugs prevent platelets from clumping together (aggregating).