A patient is receiving hydromorphone (Dilaudid) as treatment for chronic pain. Which patient action would indicate a developing tolerance to the drug?
a. The patient takes fewer doses during the day.
b. The time frame between doses lengthens.
c. The patient forgets to take a dose as scheduled.
d. The patient takes a higher dose to obtain relief.
ANS: D
Tolerance to opioids can develop quickly, depending on the dose and frequency of use. Toler-ance is characterized by a shorter duration of pain relief, decrease in peak analgesic effect, and increase in the amount of the drug needed to relieve the pain.
You might also like to view...
You are the nurse caring for a patient who is to receive IV daunorubicin. You start the infusion and check the insertion site as per protocol. This time when you look at the IV site, you note that the IV has infiltrated
You stop the infusion. What is your main concern with this infiltration? A) Extravasation of the medication B) Discomfort to the patient C) Blanching at the site D) Reaction to the medication
The young mother of a 9-month-old complains to the home health nurse that the partially used jars of baby food she stores in the refrigerator turn to liquid. To clarify the situation, the nurse asks:
a. "Did you heat the food in the jar in the microwave?" b. "What brand of food are you using?" c. "Did you carefully cap the jar?" d. "Did you feed your baby directly from the jar?"
What effect, if any, does psyhelium have on atherosclerosis?
The nurse explains that the mortality and morbidity rate for preterm infants is higher than that of an older infant of comparable weight by:
a. 1 to 2 times. b. 2 to 3 times. c. 3 to 4 times. d. 4 to 5 times.