Chapter 38: Drug Abuse II: Alcohol

Chapter 38: Drug Abuse II: Alcohol

 

Complete Chapter Questions With Answers

 

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

1. A patient asks a nurse about the effects of chronic alcohol use on the heart. The nurse’s best response would be which statement?

a.	“Chronic alcohol use affects the liver more adversely than it does the heart.”
b.	“Drinking more than two drinks a day protects the heart from atherosclerosis.”
c.	“Long-term alcohol use can damage the heart and cause heart failure.”
d.	“Over time, alcohol use can lower your blood pressure.”

 

 

ANS:  C

Chronic abuse of alcohol results in direct damage to the myocardium, increasing the risk of heart failure. Chronic alcohol abuse has a significant effect on the heart and also affects the liver. Drinking fewer than two alcoholic beverages a day potentially protects the heart from atherosclerosis. Alcohol consumption produces a dose-dependent elevation of blood pressure.

 

PTS:   1                    DIF:    Cognitive Level: Application           REF:   pp. 412-413

TOP:   Nursing Process: Implementation

MSC:  NCLEX Client Needs Category: Physiologic Integrity: Reduction of Risk Potential

 

2. An alcoholic patient’s spouse asks a nurse about recovery from chronic alcoholism. The patient is confused and has abnormal eye movements and nystagmus. Which statement by the nurse is correct?

a.	“The symptoms your spouse shows are partly reversible in most people.”
b.	“These symptoms can be reversed with vitamin therapy and good nutrition.”
c.	“Your spouse has symptoms of an irreversible encephalopathy.”
d.	“Your spouse will probably recover completely after detoxification.”

 

 

ANS:  B

Chronic use of alcohol can produce severe neurologic and psychiatric disorders. This patient shows signs of Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which is readily reversible with thiamine. With proper nutrition, the symptoms will clear completely. Korsakoff’s psychosis is not reversible; signs of this disorder include polyneuropathy, memory disorders, and confabulation. Wernicke’s encephalopathy requires thiamine supplementation and not just detoxification, which is treatment to withdraw alcohol from the patient’s system.

 

PTS:   1                    DIF:    Cognitive Level: Application           REF:   p. 412

TOP:   Nursing Process: Implementation

MSC:  NCLEX Client Needs Category: Physiologic Integrity: Pharmacologic and Parenteral Therapies

 

3. A nurse is discussing alcohol abuse with a group of nursing students. One student asks whether alcohol consumption has any beneficial effects. The nurse replies that, in moderate amounts, alcohol:

a.	helps people to sleep well.
b.	improves sexual responsiveness.
c.	may protect against dementia.
d.	prevents hypothermia.

 

 

ANS:  C

In moderate amounts, alcohol helps preserve cognitive function in the older adult and may protect against dementia. Alcohol disrupts sleep and alters sleep cycles, reducing total sleeping time and the quality of sleep. Alcohol lowers inhibitions but diminishes sexual responsiveness. Alcohol dilates cutaneous blood vessels, which actually promotes heat loss.

 

PTS:   1                    DIF:    Cognitive Level: Analysis                REF:   pp. 412-414

TOP:   Nursing Process: Evaluation

MSC:  NCLEX Client Needs Category: Physiologic Integrity: Pharmacologic and Parenteral Therapies

 

4. A patient tells a nurse that she drinks wine for its cardioprotective effects. She wants to know how much is safe. The nurse is correct in telling her that:

a.	“A couple of glasses of wine 1 or 2 days a week will help prevent heart disease.”
b.	“Abstaining from alcohol completely is the best way to prevent heart disease.”
c.	“If you drink only on weekends, you will minimize your risk of developing heart disease.”
d.	“Cardioprotective effects are greatest in people who live an unhealthy lifestyle.”

 

 

ANS:  D

Moderate consumption, which for women is 1 drink a day or less, has been shown to reduce the incidence of ischemic stroke, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. The pattern determines protection as well; moderate consumption 3 or 4 days a week rather than 1 or 2 days is more protective. These effects are greatest in people who have an unhealthy lifestyle, who do not eat fruits and vegetables, and who smoke. Having a couple of glasses of wine exceeds the moderate amount for women. Moderate consumption, as just described, has better protective benefits than complete abstinence. Drinking on weekends does not fit the pattern of 3 or 4 days per week that has been shown to be protective.

 

PTS:   1                    DIF:    Cognitive Level: Comprehension     REF:   p. 413

TOP:   Nursing Process: Evaluation

MSC:  NCLEX Client Needs Category: Physiologic Integrity: Reduction of Risk Potential