A nurse is completing a discharge plan for a 24-year-old patient who will begin taking phenytoin. Which information is important to teach this patient?
a. She may stop taking the drug when she is seizure free for a year.
b. Taking the medication will ensure that she no longer has seizures.
c. She may need to discontinue the drug if serious side effects occur.
d. She should be sure to use an effective contraceptive method.
ANS: D
Because antiepileptic drugs can harm a fetus, female patients of childbearing age should be counseled about the use of contraceptives, which may also have drug-to-drug interactions with the antiepileptic drugs. Patients should be counseled that withdrawal of a seizure medication should be done only with the advice of their prescriber and not just when a certain period of time has passed without seizures. Taking a seizure medication is not a guarantee that seizures will not occur; managing seizures often requires experimenting with several different medications. Patients should report side effects and, if they are serious, should discontinue a drug but only under the guidance of their prescriber.
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