Week 12 The pharmacological management of mental health disorders Flashcards
(111 cards)
What are the 4 types of drugs used in MH disorders?
- Antianxiety drugs
- Antidepressants
- Antimanic drugs
- Antipsychotics
What are anxiolytics?
drugs that prevent the feeling of tension or fear
What are sedatives?
drugs that make you calm and make patients unaware of their environment
What are hypnotics?
drugs that cause sleep
What are minor tranquillizers?
produce a state of tranquility in anxious patients
What is anxiety?
Unpleasant state of mind, characterized by a sense of dread and fear
- May be based on actual anticipated experiences or past experiences
- May be exaggerated responses to imaginary negative situations
What are some common times to have anxiety that may require treatment?
- Very common preoperatively to reduce anxiety
- Diagnostic tests
- Fear of flights
What are some of the major anxiety disorders?
- Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Panic disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia
- Agoraphobia (fear of crowds or public places)
- Social anxietydisorder(SAD)
What do most benzodiazepines end in?
- pam
prototype chlordiazepoxide
What kind of drugs are benzodiazepines?
antianxiety
What is the action of benzodiazepine?
- Act in the limbic system and the RAS
- Make GABA more effective
- Causes interference with neurons firing
- Lower doses cause anxiolytic effects
- Higher doses cause sedation and hypnosis
What are the indications for benzodiazepine?
- Anxiety disorders
- Alcohol withdrawal
- Hyperexcitability and agitation
- Preoperative relief of anxiety and tension
What are the pharmacokinetics of benzodiazepines?
- absorbed in GI tract
- peak levels achieved in 30 min to 2h
- lipid soluble and distribute well through out the body
- cross placenta
- enter breast milk
- metabolized in the liver
- excreted in the urine
What are the contraindications and cautions of benzodiazepine?
- Allergy to benzodiazepine
- Psychosis
- Acute narrow angle glaucoma
- Shock
- Coma
- Acute alcohol intoxication
- Pregnancy
What are some adverse effects of benzodiazepine?
- Sedation
- Drowsiness
- Depression
- Lethargy
- Blurred Vision
- Confusion
- Dry Mouth
- Constipation
- Nausea&Vomiting
- Hypotension
- Urinary Retention
What nursing considerations are there for patients on benzodiazepine?
Worry about driving or with elderly especially falls or general injury, or hypotension in some patients
What is the prototype of benzodiazepine?
diazepam
What is diazepam?
a benzodiazepine agent (antianxiety)
What are the drug to drug interactions of diazepam?
- Increased CNS depression when taken with ALCOHOL
- Increase in effect when taken with CIMETIDE, ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES or DISULFIRAM
- Decrease in effect if taken with THEOPHYLLINE or RANITIDINE
What health teaching is required for a patient who says “I’ve been on xanax for 3m and i want to be off my medication now, i’m better.”
- Avoid alcohol, driving, operating machinery, grapefruit and OTC medications (especially if they cause sedation (antihistamines), take with food
- As the nurse you would monitor for anxiety, etc.(ask and look)
- Cannot directly stop taking medication (long term use causes dependance so if they stop immediately they will have withdrawal symptoms; must taper dose down)
- sometimes have N&V, seizures, panic attacks, etc
What is an affective disorder?
- a person’s mood goes far beyond the normal “ups and downs”
What is depression?
-Severe and long-lasting feelings of sadness beyond what was the precipitating event
What is it called when a person’s mood goes far beyond the normal ups and downs?
affective disorder
What are the signs and symptoms of depression?
- Low Energy Level
- Sleep Disturbances
- Lack of Appetite
- Limited Libido
- Inability to perform ADL’s - Overwhelming feelings of
sadness, despair, hopelessness, and disorganization
(watch for suicidal thoughts)