Modules 1 and 2 Flashcards
What is the normal lithium level?
0.6-1.2 mEq/L
Baseline labs before initiation of lithium to ensure safety and efficacy
- Thyroid panel (TSH)
- Serum Creatinine (0.6-1.2 mg/dl) (kidneys)
- Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (10-20mg/dl) (kidneys)
- Pregnancy Test (HCG)
- ECG for clients older than 50
Side effects of lithium
Endocrine: weight gain, impaired thyroid
CNS: fine hand tremors, fatigue, mental cloudiness, headaches, coarse hand tremors with toxicity, nystagmus
Dermatological: Maculopaular rash, pruritus, acne
GI: n/v/d, cramps GI upset, anorexia
Renal: polyuria with polydipsia, diabetes insipidus, edema, microscopic tubular changes
Cardiac: T wave inversions, dysrythmias
Hematological: leukocytosis
Name some drugs reduce renal clearance that may increase serum concentrations of lithium
NSAIDs (Ibuprofen, Indocin)
Thiazides (hydrochlorothiazide)
ACE inhibitors (lisinopril)
What are signs of lithium toxicity
severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, confusion, convulsions, drowsiness, blurred vision, slurred speech, muscle weakness, heart palpitations, coarse hand tremors, and unsteadiness while standing or walking (ataxia)
If you have a patient that you suspect may have lithium toxicity, what would you do?
D/C LITHIUM AND CHECK SERUM LITHIUM LEVELS
What is a dangerous side effect that can occur with MAOIs?
hypertensive crisis if taken with foods containing tyramine, a dietary precursor to norepinephrine
What medications should you NOT take while on an MAOI?
Meperidine
Stimulants and other sympathomimetics
Decongestants
TCAs
Atypical Antipsychotics
St. John’s wort
L-tryptophan
Asthma medication
What are symptoms to watch for in a hypertensive crisis?
- Sudden, explosive-like headache, usually in the
occipital region - Elevated blood pressure
- Facial flushing
- Palpitations
- Pupillary dilation
- Diaphoresis
- Fever
How should you treat a hypertensive crisis?
- Discontinue the MAOI.
- Give phentolamine
- Stabilize fever
Teratogenic risks of Benzodiazepines:
Floppy baby syndrome, cleft palate
Teratogenic risks of Carbamazepine (Tegretol):
Neural tube defects
Teratogenic risks of Lithium (Eskalith):
Epstein anomaly
Teratogenic risks of Divalproex sodium (Depakote):
Neural tube defects, specifically spina bifida,
atrial septal defect, cleft palate, and possible long-term developmental deficits
What anxiolytic is safe in pregnancy?
Buspar
What SSRI is safe in pregnancay?
zoloft
Black Box warning for Lamotrigine (lamictal) - (anticonvulsant used as mood stabilizer)
Steven Johnson Syndrome
What mood stabilizer is safe in pregnancy?
lamictal
Black box warning for Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
agranulocytosis and aplastic anemia
Black box warning for Valproic acid/divalproex sodium (anticonvulsant used as mood stabilizer)
hepatotoxicity and pancreatitis
What are baseline labs you should order before initiating carbamazepine or valproic acid?
CBC
LFTs
How long does it take to see a response with lithium or an anticonvulsant?
1-2 weeks
Signs and symptoms of Steven Johnson Syndrome
* Fever (not included in book)
* Sore throat
* Facial swelling
* Tongue swelling
* Rash
* Skin sloughing
* Prodromal headache, malaise, arthralgia (joint stiffness), and painful mucous membranes may occur before rash occurs
What are some s/s of aplastic anemia?
pallor, fatigue, headache, fever, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, skin rash, shortness of breath
Which anticonvulsant is associated with steven johnson syndrome?
carbamazepine (tegretol)
If you are going to start an Asian on carbamazepine, what should you screen them for?
HLAB-1502 allelle
What should you check before placing any female patient (12-51) on psychotropic medication?
pregnancy test
Why would you prescribe folic acid to someone who is pregnant and what is the recommended dosage?
Folic acid support neural tube developement
0.4-0.8 mg/day
Does hypokalemia or hyperkalemia cause lithium toxicity?
hyperkalemia
A patient on lithium is started on a diuretic, what effect does this have on lithium?
Diuretics can reduce renal clearance of lithium.
What is the normal ANC level?
2500-6000
What is the normal range for WBC?
4500-11000
How often do you monitor clozaril when initiating?
During first 6 months: weekly; during second 6 months: every 2 weeks; then monthly if ANC is normal.
What SGA and anticonvulsant can have a serious side effect of agranulocytosis and neutropenia?
Clozapine
Carbamazepine
What ANC level suggest neutropenia and what should you do??
ANC less than 1000 mm3
DC clozaril/carbamazepine
**What WBC level suggest agranulocytosis?
WBC of 2000-3000 (bc of risk of agranulocytosis)
DC clozaril/carbamazepine
A patient on clozaril or carbamazepine develops signs of infection (sudden fever, chills, sore throat, weakness), what should you do?
Check ANC and WBC count for neutropenia or agranulocytosis
What are s/s of aplastic anemia and which mood stabilizer can cause this?
nosebleeds, bleeding gums, and skin rash
Carbamazepine
What is the normal BMI range?
18.5-24.9
What are some presentations that may be seen in someone with bulemia?
- Weight usually within normal range
- Erosion of dental enamel
- Russell’s sign – scarring or calluses on the dorsum of the hand secondary to self-induced vomiting.
- Hypertrophy of salivary glands
- Rectal prolapse
How d you pharmacologically manage someone with bulimia nervosa?
- Fluoxetine is FDA-approved for bulimia nervosa.
- SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are effective in reducing the frequency of
bingeing and purging
A person is considered anorexia nervosa when their BMI less than _______
15
When would you refer a patient with anorexia nervosa to inpatient hospitalization?
Losing 25% of their body weight in 3 months
Severe dehydration
Electrolyte imbalances
How would you manage a patient with anorexia nervosa nonpharmalogically?
- Medical and nutritional stabilization
- Weight restoration
- Correction of electrolyte imbalance
- Vitamin supplementation
- Nutrition Counseling
- Dental Care
What psychotherapeutic interventions can you use with someone with anorexia nervosa?
- Behavioral therapy
- CBT (replacing neg thoughts with positive thoughts)
- Family therapy
- Group therapy
**A patient with depression who also presents with fatigue and low energy, what would you give?
Wellbutrin
What medication is contraindicated in patients with seizure disorder/history of seizures, or conditions that increase the risk of seizures such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia.
Wellbutrin
A patient on an SSRI complains of sexual dysfunction, what medication could you give them that does not have sexual side effects?
wellbutrin (buproprion) or remeron (mirtazapine)
What class drug is wellbutrin?
NDRI
A patient with depression and neuropathic pain comes to your clinic, what can you give them to help with depression and their neuropathic pain?
TCAs or SNRIs
Choose an SNRI first because it is safer than TCAs
What do enzyme inducers do?
decrease serum level of other drugs that are substrates of that enzyme, thus possibly causing subtherapeutic drug levels.
Carbamazepine and tobacco are inducers or inhibitors?
Inducers
Your patient is on sertraline and decides to start smoking. Because tobacco is an inducer, how should you dose sertraline?
Increase dose
What do enzyme inhibitors do and what are two examples?
increase the serum level of other drugs that are substrates of that enzyme, thus possibly causing toxic levels
Ex: Clarithromycin and Ketoconazole
What are inducers of CYP450
Mneumonic:
BullShit CRAP GPS
Barbiturates
St. John’s Wort
Carbamazepine
Rifampin
Alcohol (chronic)
Phenytoin
Griseofulvin
Phenobarbital
Sulfonylureas
**plus cigarette smoking
What are CYP450 inhibitors?
Mneumonic:
SICK FACES.COM
Sodium valproate
Isoniazid
Cimetidine
Ketoconazole
Fluconazole
Alcohol (Acute)
Chloramphenicol
Erythromycin
Sulfonamide
Ciprofloxacin
Omeprazole
Metronidazole
Study of what drugs do and how they do it?
pharmacology
Study of what the body does to a drugs.
pharmacokinetics
Study of what drugs do to the body.
pharmacodynamics
What part of the GI are oral medications normally abosrbed?
small intestines and liver
Which CYP enzyme is implicated as a tobacco inducer when an individual is treated with clozapine?
1A2
Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug that is metabolized to a major extent by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1A2. Smoking is a potent inducer of CYP1A2 enzyme activity, resulting in significant lower clozapine serum concentrations in smokers compared with non smokers, upon a given dose
When treating older adults, you should keep in mind that they are more sensitive to issues of drug toxicity because of which of the following reasons?
Decreased protein binding
Where is norepinephrine produce and what does it effect?
Produced in locus coeruleus and medullary reticular formation.
Affects attention and focus, mood regulation, sleep-wake cycles,memory formation and involved in the fight or flight response.
An imbalance in norepinephrine can lead to _____
depression and anxiety
Where is serotonin produce and what is it responsible for?
Produced in raphe nuclei of the brainstem
Regulates mood, appetite, sleep, memory, and learning,
An imbalance in serotonin can lead to ______
mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, OCD
Where is dopamine produced and what is it responsible for ?
Produced in the substantia nigra (regulate motor movements), nucleus accumbens, and the ventral tegmental area (VTA)
Influences reward and pleasure centers, motivation, and movement
An imbalance in dopamine can lead to ________
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction, depression
Where is acetylcholine produced and what is it involved in?
Synthesized by the basal nucleus of Meynert
Involved in memory, learning, and muscle movement
A deficiency in acetylcholine can lead to what disorder?
dementia
What does GABA do?
GABA reduces neuronal excitability, which helps with relaxation and stress reduction
What does glutamate do?
Involved in cognitive functions such as learning and memory
An imbalance in GABA can cause which disorders?
anxiety disorders, epilepsy, and other neurological disorders
Increased levels of glutamate can lead to ___
anxiety
Glutamate is imbalanced in which disorders?
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, MDD, seizure d/o
Frontal lobe is responsible for:
- Executive functions: working memory, reasoning, planning, prioritizing, sequencing behavior, insight, flexibility, judgment, impulse control, behavioral cueing, intelligence, and abstraction.
- Language (Broca’s area): expressive speech
- Personality development
Problems in the frontal lobe can lead to:
personality changes, emotional, and intellectual changes.
Temporal lobe is responsible for
o Primary auditory area
o Language (Wernicke’s area): Receptive speech or language comprehension
o Memory
o Emotion
Problems in the temporal lobe can lead to ______
auditory hallucinations, aphasia, and amnesia
Occipital lobe is responsible for _____
o Primary visual cortex
o Integration area: integrates vision with other sensory information.
Problems in the occipital lobe can lead to ________
visual field defects, blindness, and visual hallucinations.
The parietal lobe is responsible for _____
o Primary sensory area
o Taste
o Reading and writing