doyoudig
Forum Guru
Topics: 144
Posts: 613
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10. A mentally competent 76-year-old man is in the
terminal stage of
multiple myeloma. He is unable to move and requires
24-hour nursing
care. Increasing doses of narcotics are needed to
control severe pain.
As a result, when he is pain-free, respiratory
function is impaired and
consciousness is clouded. The patient says he cannot
live with this
degree of pain and asks to be given a lethal injection
of pain
medication. Which of the following is the most
appropriate step regarding the
pain medication?
A
) Reduce the dosage so as not to impair respiration
B
) Administer the dosage necessary to control pain
despite
respiratory impairment
C
) Administer the dosage necessary to control pain
and add a
centrally acting stimulant
D
) Appeal to the family to convince the patient to
tolerate a bit
more pain
So B or C, but why, what is better, are CNS Stimulants useful here?
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| dr_arc
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 156
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i think the answer is B.
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| cirus
Forum Guru
Topics: 108
Posts: 740
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I'll go with B, too
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| young_doc
Forum Guru
Topics: 55
Posts: 732
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I vote for B too.
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| RitaM
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 61
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This sort of medicne is practised in Canada and is called terminal analgesia by palliative care doctors.i.e if the patient dies due to the respiratory depression by the analgesic it is considered acceptable.
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| MAGY17
Forum Elite
Topics: 30
Posts: 234
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 b
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| DrVirgo
Forum Hero
Topics: 1041
Posts: 3,342
|
B -At this point your job is to make him as comfortable as possible.
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