Contact us:
+1 (520) 226-8615
Email:
[email protected]
Week 6 Assignment: Decision Tree for Neurological and Musculoskeletal Disorders – NURS 6521 Essays
Sabrina is a 26 year old female who has just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She has scheduled an appointment for a follow up with her physician but has several questions about her diagnosis and is calling the Nurse Helpline for her hospital network. As she talks with the advanced practice nurse, she learns that her diagnosis also impacts her neurologic and musculoskeletal systems. Although multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder, both the neurologic and musculoskeletal systems will be affected by adverse symptoms that Sabrina needs to be aware of and for which specific drug therapy plans and other treatment options need to be decided on.
As an advanced practice nurse, what types of drugs will best address potential neurologic and musculoskeletal symptoms Sabrina might experience?’
This week, you will evaluate patients for the treatment of neurologic and musculoskeletal disorders by focusing on specific patient case studies through a decision tree exercise. You will analyze the decisions you will make in the decision tree exercise and reflect on your experiences in proposing the recommended actions to address the health needs in the patient case study.
Also Read : Essay: Anxiety disorder
Students will:
For your Assignment, your Instructor will assign you one of the decision tree interactive media pieces provided in the Resources. As you examine the patient case studies in this module’s Resources, consider how you might assess and treat patients presenting symptoms of neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. NURS 6521 Week 6 – Assignment: Decision Tree for Neurological and Musculoskeletal Disorders.
Write a 1- to 2-page summary paper that addresses the following:
You will submit this Week 6 Assignment: Decision Tree for Neurological and Musculoskeletal Disorders – NURS 6521 Essays in Week 8.
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
To access your rubric:
Week 8 Assignment Rubric
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 8 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Alzheimer’s is characterized as a neurodegenerative disorder that starts slowly and worsens over time. This health issue is allied with 70% of dementia cases globally. The primary predominant initial symptom is the absence of memory related to current events (Alzheimer’s, 2015). As the disease progresses, other symptoms include mood swings, disorientation, lack of self-esteem, language barriers, and behavioral changes. Gradually, all physical functions are lost, eventually leading to death. Notably, Alzheimer’s disease cannot be cured; it could be managed to ensure the patient’s quality of life (Alzheimer’s, 2015).
The case study presented in the media file describes the examination and treatment of an elderly Iranian male of 76 years old named Mr. Akkad. His eldest son explained that he displays strange behaviors and does not show interest in religious activities with his family. Moreover, Mr Akkad also forgot things and after various memory tests, confabulation has been reported in the case of Mr Akkad.
Mr. Akkad reported impaired impulse and judgment. Later , a mini-mental state test was performed, revealing that Mr. Akkad suffers from a major neurocognitive disease that occurred probably due to Alzheimer’s. This disorder cannot be cured; only it can be treated and managed by pharmacological intrusions that lie on various dynamics like appropriate drug selection, the appropriate dose of the drug, time of use, and route of administration.
For this decision, three options were listed, the first option was to begin Exelon 1.5mg orally BID with an increase to 3 mg orally BID in 2 weeks, the second option was to begin Aricept 5mg orally at bedtime and the third option was to begin Razadyne 4mg orally BID. The option which I have selected is to begin 1.5mg of Exelon by increasing the dose to 3mg in two weeks as it serves as the first line of treatment and effective for normal brain functioning involving processing, memory and language areas (tartrate & Exelon, 2019). It is a cholinesterase inhibitor and helps improve nerve cells’ functioning in the brain. By administering rivastigmine (Exelon), acetylcholine concentration elevates and is available for synaptic transmission by inhibiting the hydrolysis of Ach with the help of cholinesterase (Birks & Evans, 2015).
This decision also listed three options. The first was to increase Aricept to 10mg, the second option was to discontinue Aricept and begin Razadyne, and the third option was to discontinue Aricept and begin Namenda. I was hoping that point one decision will little effect on the patient’s symptoms and start to mimic them. However, the results that came from the first decision were that the client returned to the clinic after four weeks and his family explained that no change occured in the behavior and interest of Mr Akkad. The mini-mental state examination also scores the same as previously.
Decision point two was to increase the dose of Exelon to 4.5mg orally BID. This dose will help restore neurotransmitter balance in the brain, improve memory and awareness, and engage in interesting activities (Sadowsky et al., 2014).
This decision tree also listed three options, after decision point two, the patient started to respond and tolerate the treatment, and the family explained that Mr. Akkad is attending religious activities, but some behaviors were still reported the same. The third option was to add 5mg of Namenda orally per day. I have chosen this medical intervention to augment the Exelon during intolerance. Namenda helps improve mood, ability to perform daily tasks, and cognition (Glinz et al., 2019).
Combination therapy resulted in greater symptomatic improvements in both cognitive and behavioral efficacy measures suggest that the complementary mechanisms of action of ChEIs and memantine have additive or synergistic potential in delaying symptomatic decline in AD (Glinz et al., 2019). I have also advised the son of Mr. Akkad about the trajectory of Alzheimer’s, that it cannot be cured and could be managed by pharmacological interventions over a significant time.
References:
Alzheimer’s, A. (2015). 2015 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimer’s & dementia: the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, 11(3), 332.
Birks, J. S., & Evans, J. G. (2015). Rivastigmine for Alzheimer’s disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4).
Glinz, D., Gloy, V. L., Monsch, A. U., Kressig, R. W., Patel, C., McCord, K. A., … & Raatz, H. (2019). Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors combined with memantine for moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease: a meta-analysis. Swiss medical weekly, 149(2526).
Sadowsky, C. H., Micca, J. L., Grossberg, G. T., & Velting, D. M. (2014). Rivastigmine from capsules to patch: therapeutic advances in the management of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease dementia. The primary care companion for CNS disorders, 16(5).
Tartrate, G., & Exelon, B. (2019). Exelon (Rivastigmine Tartrate): Side Effects, Interactions, Warning, Dosage & Uses. Retrieved 4 October 2019, from https://www.rxlist.com/exelon-drug.htm#indications