A patient is preparing to travel to perform missionary work in a region with poor drinking water. The provider gives the patient a prescription for ciprofloxacin (Cipro) to take on the trip. What will the nurse instruct this patient to do?
a. Combine the antibiotic with an antidiarrheal medication, such as loperamide.
b. Start taking the ciprofloxacin 1 week before traveling.
c. Take 1 tablet of ciprofloxacin with each meal for best results.
d. Use the drug if symptoms are severe or do not improve in a few days.
ANS: D
Traveler's diarrhea is generally caused by Escherichia coli; treatment is usually unnecessary, because the disease runs its course in a few days. If symptoms are severe or prolonged, an antibiotic, such as ciprofloxacin, may be helpful. Patients should be instructed to take it only if needed. Antidiarrheal medications may just slow the export of the organism and prolong the course of the disease, but they may be used when symptoms are mild for relief from discomfort. Prophylactic treatment with antibiotics is not recommended. Ciprofloxacin is given twice daily, not with meals.
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