A patient reports experiencing performance anxiety in front of an audience. The nurse should be aware that this type of anxiety is often treated with which medication?
Hydroxyzine (Vistaril)
Imipramine (Tofranil)
Propranolol (Inderal)
Buspirone (Buspar)
The Correct Answer is C
Choice A reason: Hydroxyzine, an antihistamine, reduces anxiety via sedation but is not specific for performance anxiety. It blocks histamine receptors, not sympathetic responses like tachycardia in stage fright. Propranolol better targets physical symptoms, making hydroxyzine less effective for this specific anxiety type.
Choice B reason: Imipramine, a tricyclic, treats generalized anxiety or depression via serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibition but is not ideal for performance anxiety. Its slow onset and side effects make it unsuitable for acute, situational sympathetic activation, unlike propranolol’s rapid effect on physical symptoms.
Choice C reason: Propranolol, a beta-blocker, reduces sympathetic symptoms like tachycardia and trembling in performance anxiety by blocking norepinephrine at beta receptors. This calms physical manifestations of amygdala-driven fear, making it the preferred choice for situational anxiety, aligning with evidence-based treatment for performance anxiety.
Choice D reason: Buspirone enhances serotonin for chronic anxiety but takes weeks to act, unsuitable for acute performance anxiety. Sympathetic activation in stage fright requires rapid beta-blockade, not gradual serotonin modulation, making buspirone incorrect for the immediate needs of this condition.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A reason: Canceling discharge overrides patient autonomy and recovery progress. Stabilized schizophrenia, managed with antipsychotics targeting dopamine, supports discharge with adherence. This action disregards the patient’s rights and neurobiological stabilization, making it an inappropriate advocacy response.
Choice B reason: Notifying security dismisses family concerns and escalates unnecessarily. Schizophrenia management relies on medication adherence, not coercion. This approach ignores patient rights and family education needs, failing to address neurobiological treatment principles, making it incorrect for advocacy.
Choice C reason: Transferring to long-term care assumes ongoing instability, ignoring current stabilization. Antipsychotics correct dopamine imbalances, supporting outpatient management. This undermines patient autonomy and recovery potential, making it an inappropriate advocacy action for a stabilized patient.
Choice D reason: Explaining medication adherence promotes patient autonomy and recovery. Antipsychotics reduce dopamine-driven hallucinations, ensuring symptom control. Educating the family empowers support for adherence, aligning with patient rights and neurobiological treatment principles, making this the correct advocacy response.
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
Choice A reason: This question verifies the nurse’s interpretation, ensuring accurate understanding of concerns linked to emotional dysregulation, possibly from serotonin imbalances. It promotes therapeutic communication, engaging prefrontal cortex processing to clarify patient emotions, reducing miscommunication and fostering trust in psychiatric interactions.
Choice B reason: Asking for common elements seeks patterns, not clarification of specific concerns. Emotional concerns, tied to amygdala hyperactivity, require precise understanding. This question is too vague, risking misinterpretation of neurobiological emotional cues, making it less effective for therapeutic clarification in psychiatric care.
Choice C reason: Requesting a full recount is inefficient and may overwhelm patients with anxiety or cognitive deficits, like those from dopamine dysregulation. Clarification needs targeted questions to confirm specific concerns, not a broad restart, making this approach inappropriate for effective therapeutic communication.
Choice D reason: Asking to repeat experiences may frustrate patients and fail to clarify specific points. Emotional concerns, linked to stress-induced cortisol spikes, need focused verification. This vague request risks missing neurobiological nuances, making it less effective than direct confirmation for therapeutic clarification.
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