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When a pharmacoeconomic analysis looks at two or more treatment alternatives that are considered equal in efficacy and compares the costs of each it is referred to as:
- A. Cost-minimization analysis
- B. Cost-of-illness analysis
- C. Cost-effectiveness analysis
- D. Cost-benefit analysis
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Cost-minimization analysis compares costs of equally effective treatments.
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Which of the following would be the best source of drug information for a nurse?
- A. Drug Facts and Comparisons book
- B. A nurse's drug guide
- C. A drug package insert
- D. The Physician's Drug Reference (PDR)
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The most user-friendly drug source for a nurse is a nurse's drug guidebook. A guide provides nursing implications and patient teaching points that are most useful to nurses. The Drug Facts and Comparisons book provides a wide range of drug information but is hard to manipulate and is very expensive. A package insert contains all of the chemical and drug company research information about a drug, however, the information can be difficult to understand and the print is very small. The PDR is heavily cross-referenced and difficult to use.
The nurse, working on the maternity unit, receives a call from a pregnant woman asking how she can know whether a medication is safe to take while pregnant. What is the nurse's best response?
- A. You can take any drug indicated as a Category A.
- B. No medications should be taken during pregnancy.
- C. Never take medication until you receive approval from your health care provider.
- D. Most medications are safe but you need to weigh benefit against risk.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best response to a pregnant woman asking about medication usage is to talk with her obstetric practitioner because the best advice will come from someone who knows their health and pregnancy history. While Category A drugs have no known risk, they may be contraindicated by the woman's health condition or pregnancy issues and many pregnant women would not know what it means to be a Category A drug. Medications can be helpful during pregnancy if taken safely and appropriately. Although risk benefit needs to be weighed, it should occur with advice from the obstetric practitioner.
As a clinical consultant for the Breathright drug research firm, you are given the task of using an in vitro assay to screen ten thousand drug analogs to find the most potent beta-2 receptor agonist. When analysing your data, the biomarker that you should screen for is:
- A. E max
- B. Emax
- C. EC50
- D. Half life
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Potency is measured by EC50 (dose producing 50% of max effect); lower EC50 indicates higher potency.
Which antiarrhythmic medication is primarily used for atrial fibrillation?
- A. Propranolol
- B. Amiodarone
- C. Digoxin
- D. Verapamil
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Amiodarone is widely used for atrial fibrillation due to its broad-spectrum antiarrhythmic effects across multiple classes.
A patient is ordered to receive a subcutaneous injection of heparin twice a day. When administering this drug to the patient, which of the following would be most important for the nurse to do to minimize tissue damage?
- A. Insert the needle at the appropriate angle.
- B. Select the needle length based on the patient's weight.
- C. Ensure that there is no hair on the injection site.
- D. Rotate the injection site regularly.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The nurse should rotate the injection sites to minimize the damage caused to the tissue. Inserting the needle at the proper angle and selecting the needle length based on the patient's weight will not significantly help in minimizing tissue damage if the same site is repeatedly injected. It is not necessary to avoid injection sites that have hair as long as the drug is administered in the upper arms, the upper abdomen, and the upper back.