A nurse administering medications to a variety of patients on a medical-surgical floor recognizes that which patients may need additional education about medication adherence?

Question

1. Fifty-year-old recently remarried male taking antihypertensive medication
2. Thirty-four-year-old female with family history of blood clots taking an estrogen oral contraceptive
3. Sixty-eight-year-old male recently started on antidepressants known to cause gynecomastia
4. Twenty-eight-year-old female started on acne medication known to cause male-patterned hair growth
5. Seventy-eight-year-old male taking estrogen as therapy for prostate cancer

Answer 1

Correct Answer: 1,2,4
Rationale 1: Antihypertensive medications can cause impotence. This patient will need additional education about this possible side effect.
Rationale 2: Estrogen can cause an increased risk for thrombolytic events, especially in patients who have a positive family history.
Rationale 3: Men at this age usually already have some degree of enlargement of breast tissue due to decreasing testosterone and would not necessarily need additional education to prevent medication nonadherence.
Rationale 4: Some acne medications cause increased hair growth in a male pattern, such as on the face. While controlling acne is a goal, the patient may not want the extra hair growth.
Rationale 5: Although estrogen therapy can result in breast enlargement, men at this age usually already have some degree of breast enlargement due to decreased testosterone levels.