Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days who were assigned a different patient case study, and provide recommendations for alternative drug treatments to address the patient’s pathophysiology. Be specific and provide examples.

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Women’s and Men’s Health, Infectious Disease, and Hematologic Disorders

Patients today are much sicker than they used to be. The advanced practice nurse needs to manage all comorbidities in the plan of care. In this post, I will discuss the patient’s health care needs and a recommended treatment plan, including pharmacotherapeutic choices. Also, I will present an education strategy to assist the patient in managing their disease conditions. The patient has a history of hypertension, myocardial infarction, hyperlipidemia angina, and diabetes type two. Her needs center around the management of these comorbidities. Also, I noticed that her serum creatinine is on the high end of the range if not outside of it. This fact is not surprising considering her diabetes. The case reports that she was doing well until about a month ago. It was tempting to consider adding another medication to the regimen. However, I believe that either the metoprolol is not high enough to manage her current disease state or she has been missing doses, and I am leaning toward the latter. If withdrawn suddenly, the drug can increase the incidence and intensity of anginal attacks. Metoprolol is the first-line drug for stable angina and should be working (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2018).  

A review of her current drug therapy appears appropriate. Aspirin, simvastatin, and metformin are competent choices, and the doses are adequate. My plan would include an assessment of how she takes medication at home and manages them before making any changes. If this were in order, I would increase the metoprolol to 75 mg twice a day and set a follow-up appointment in two weeks. I prefer to increase the dose of metoprolol first before adding any new drug because of polypharmacy considerations, and the drug does not require renal adjustment (Epocrates, 2019). This fact is beneficial to consider because she has diabetes. Assuming that the patient has missed doses over the last month, the priority is to determine why. Costa et al. (2015) recommend explaining how to take medication, discussing reluctance to take drugs, and a conversation about the patient’s beliefs and knowledge about their health and treatment. I believe that this is a great strategy to use with the patient. Medication adherence is troubling and particularly so with the elderly who have multiple medications and conditions. I think it is essential for the patient and provider to be partners in the plan of care. The patient must agree to it and fully understand their conditions and the purpose of each medication. 

                                          References

Costa, E., Giardini, A., Savin, M., Menditto, E., Lehane, E., Laosa, O., … Marengoni, A. (2015). Interventional tools to improve          medication adherence: review of literature. Patient Preference And Adherence, 9, 1303–1314. doi:10.2147/PPA.S87551Epocrates. (2019). Metoprolol Tartrate Adult Dosing. Retrieved from https://online.epocrates.com/drugs/25501/metoprolol-        tartrate/Adult-DosingRosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2018). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice providers. St. Louis, MO:        Elsevier.