NURS 6521 Examine Case Study on Pakistani Woman With Delusional Thought Processes
Introduction
This assignment is about a 34-year-old Pakistani female who presents with a brief psychotic disorder. She had been hospitalized for 21 days and given this diagnosis because her symptoms had only been available for less than a month. Her symptoms were hallucinations and delusions. She believed that she was prophet Mohammad and would report visons of Allah. She went out of control one evening and this made her husband concerned. During the assessment the patient appears calm and denies any of the hallucinations and delusions. This shows that she has poor insight.
The patient is in a good mood and occasionally becomes hostile during the interview. The patient reports to have stopped taking her medication. The PANSS score reveals that the patient has more positive symptoms. This is relevant as it may help decide the most appropriate treatment. A diagnosis of schizophrenia is made. After making a diagnosis, treatment needs to be commenced. In this paper, a series of decisions are made to help with the management of this patient. Order Now
Decision 1
My first decision was to start her on Zyprexa (olanzapine) 10 mg orally. It is a second (atypical) generation antipsychotic (SGA). SGAs are the recommended first line treatment for schizophrenia. SGAs are associated with fewer extrapyramidal side effects. Olanzapine exerts its action on the dopamine and serotonin receptors in the brain. It is a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist. It binds loosely and easily dissociates from the receptor (Meftah et al., 2020).
This allows for normal dopamine neurotransmission its effect on D2 receptors decreases the positive symptoms of hallucination, delusion and disorganized thought. It also acts on serotonin 5HT2A receptors as an antagonist. This leads to a reduction in negative symptoms. There are associated adverse effects such as metabolic side effects like weight gain (Lord et al., 2017). Also, its effects on D2 receptors leads to dopaminergic blockade which can cause extrapyramidal effects. However, this risk is low because of its quick dissociation from D2 receptors.
Because Invega Sustenna 234mg IM is a long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic drug, I did not select it (Johnston et al., 2019). It is advised that the side effect profile be established prior to initiating LAI in patients. This can be achieved by beginning the patient on LAI and giving the oral LAI equivalent a brief trial to gauge its tolerability. Therefore, it is not advised to begin LAIs without first establishing tolerance.
Aripiprazole is also a good option for treatment of psychosis because it is an SGA. It is FDA approved for symptomatic management in schizophrenia patients. It acts as a partial agonist at the 5HT1A receptors and D2 receptors and antagonist at the 5HT2A receptors. It has a high affinity for D2 receptors. However, it demonstrates functional selectivity. Aripiprazole requires more than 90% occupancy rate at the D2 receptors to be clinically active (Ribeiro et al., 2018). This is advantageous in terms of tolerability. The downside of this is that it may require a long time before it can start working and this is not ideal when dealing with acute episodes. For this patient, it is likely that it might not be effective.
By giving olanzapine, I was hoping to achieve a reduction in the positive symptoms with a with a decrease in her PANSS score. The patient comes back for follow up four weeks later and reports an improvement in the PANSS score. A reduction by 25% in the positive symptoms is noted. She also reports to have hyperphagia and a weight gain of five pounds. This is an expected side effect of olanzapine. Among atypical antipsychotics, olanzapine has the most significant effect on metabolism. at this stage a second decision has to be made for the management of this patient.
Decision 2
The chosen second decision is to change the medication to Geodon (ziprasidone) 40 mg. Switching of medication when treating schizophrenia is a common practice in psychiatry. Ziprasidone is also an atypical antipsychotic. It has an affinity for dopaminergic adrenergic, histaminergic and serotonergic receptors. The D2 antagonism produced by ziprasidone is efficacious in the treatment of positive symptoms. 5HT2A antagonism is helpful in the reduction of negative symptoms. The most common side effects are tardive dyskinesia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Also, it can cause hyperglycemia in diabetic patients and should therefore be used with caution (Vázquez-Bourgon et al., 2017).
I did not choose to reduce the dose Zyprexa to 7.5 mg because it will reduce the efficacy of the drug. The patient has shown improvement in symptoms at a dose of 10 mg and therefore a reduction in dosage would be counterproductive. Also, I did not choose to use Wellbutrin because it is mostly effective in the treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia (Azizi et al., 2018). A majority of the patient’s symptoms are positive symptoms. This means that Wellbutrin would not be the most ideal drug of choice. Also, one of the side effects associated with the use of bupropion is psychosis. The risk/benefit ratio of using this drug would therefore not be beneficial for the patient.
By administering Geodon, I was hoping to achieve a further improvement in the patient symptoms. also, Ziprasidone has a lesser effect on metabolism compared to Olanzapine and therefore I was expecting a reduction in the patient’s weight. After four weeks, the patient returns to the clinic. She reports a significant improvement in her PANSS score. Her positive symptoms are reduced by 40%. This is a sign as it shows that she is responding well to he medication. She doesn’t report any issues with tolerability. The only negative report she is problems with adherence. She admits to forgetting the second dose on several occasions. With this information, a third decision would be necessary.
Decision 3
The third decision would be to give a few test doses of Risperdal 1 mg orally to check for tolerance before stating her on Invega Sustenna. Invega Sustenna is an extended-release antipsychotic agent. It is given by IM injection. The essence of giving test doses of risperidone is to check for tolerability of the drug. Also test doses are necessary for checking the efficiency of the drug (Johnston et al., 2019). I did not choose to give Latuda because of the tolerability issues experienced with high doses. Patients usually complain of gastrointestinal side effects. Geodon 80 mg was not taken as an option because it is recommended that doses are given twice daily if administered orally.
Once daily doses may interfere with the efficacy of the drug (Bouchette et al., 2017 Examine Case Study on Pakistani Woman With Delusional Thought Processes). The expected outcome of giving Invega Sustenna is that the patient will show an improvement in symptoms and live a normal life. Also, the patient will not have any problems with compliance as the drug is an extended release agent and therefore can be given only once a month once the loading dose has been given.
Ethical Considerations
For any patient, various ethical considerations have to be made. Some of the considerations include patient autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence. The nurse should know that the patient is most sovereign when it comes to making decisions regarding their health. The nurse should make known all the available treatment options. This would allow the patient to make an informed consent on the treatment option she is agreeing to.
Patients with schizophrenia often have an altered state of mind and therefore may have an impaired judgement. The nurse should take this into consideration and make sure that any treatment options agreed to by the patient are not harmful to them. In such scenario. The nurse should practice non-maleficence. The nurse should also practice beneficence by ensuring that the patient is considered when making all the decisions. In the event that the patient is incapacitated and cannot make an informed consent, the nurse should therefore consider talking to her family or next of kin to give consent.
Conclusion.
Schizophrenia is a chronic debilitating mental illness. Many treatment options have been developed over the years to help in managing this illness (McCutcheon et al., 2020). This paper discusses the case of a 34-year-old Pakistani woman who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. A series of decisions are made to help with the management. The first decision was to start her on Zyprexa (olanzapine) 10 mg orally. This choice yielded a desired response with an improvement in symptoms.
However, the patient presented with side effects such as hyperphagia and weight gain. A second decision was made. A switch of medication was made to Geodon (ziprasidone) 40 mg. This yielded more improvement is symptoms. Also, the patient showed a reduction in weight. The patient however had compliance issues. A third decision was made to switch to Invega Sustenna IM. A test dose of Risperidone 1 mg had to be given first to test for tolerability. Finally, various ethical considerations were made. These ethical considerations include patient autonomy which also covers informed consent, beneficence and non-malevolence.
NURS 6521 Examine Case Study on Pakistani Woman With Delusional Thought Processes References
- Azizi, H., Zeng, Y. H., Kallikkadan, J., Kahn, A., Olayinka, O., Popoola, O., Khan, T., Rimawi, D., Malik, A., Williams, S., Langdon, S., Obegolu, C. M., Nuthalapati, D., Alzear, R., Kalbouneh, H., Mahbub, A., Ojimba, C., Oyelakin, A., Kodjo, K., … Jolayemi, A. (2018). The use of stimulant augmentation of second-generation antipsychotics in the management of negative symptoms of schizophrenia: A case report. International Journal of Innovative Research in Medical Science, 3(08). https://doi.org/10.23958/ijirms/vol03-i08/08
- Bouchette, D., Fariba, K., & Marwaha, R. (2017). Ziprasidone. Europe PMC. Retrieved October 17, 2021, from https://europepmc.org/article/nbk/nbk448157.
- Johnston, K., Sliwa, J. K., Bossie, C. A., & Kim, E. (2019). Long-acting injectable antipsychotics. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(11), 5–5. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20191016-02
- Lord, C. C., Wyler, S. C., Wan, R., Castorena, C. M., Ahmed, N., Mathew, D., Lee, S., Liu, C., & Elmquist, J. K. (2017). The atypical antipsychotic olanzapine causes weight gain by targeting serotonin receptor 2C. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 127(9), 3402–3406. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci93362
- Meftah, A. M., Deckler, E., Citrome, L., & Kantrowitz, J. T. (2020). New discoveries for an old drug: A review of recent Olanzapine Research. Postgraduate Medicine, 132(1), 80–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/00325481.2019.1701823
- Ribeiro, E. L., de Mendonça Lima, T., Vieira, M. E., Storpirtis, S., & Aguiar, P. M. (2018). Efficacy and safety of Aripiprazole for the treatment of schizophrenia: An overview of Systematic Reviews. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 74(10), 1215–1233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-018-2498-1
- Vázquez-Bourgon, J., Pérez-Iglesias, R., Ortiz-García de la Foz, V., Suárez Pinilla, P., Díaz Martínez, Á., & Crespo-Facorro, B. (2017). Long-term metabolic effects of aripiprazole, ziprasidone and Quetiapine: A pragmatic clinical trial in drug-naïve patients with a first-episode of non-affective psychosis. Psychopharmacology, 235(1), 245–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-017-4763-x
Delusional Disorders
BACKGROUND
The client is a 34-year-old Pakistani female who moved to the United States in her late teens/early 20s. She is currently in an “arranged” marriage (her husband was selected for her when she was 9 years old). She presents following a 21-day hospitalization for what was diagnosed as “brief psychotic disorder.” She was given this diagnosis as her symptoms have persisted for less than 1 month.
Prior to admission, she was reporting visions of Allah, and over the course of a week, she believed that she was the prophet Mohammad. She believed that she would deliver the world from sin. Her husband became concerned about her behavior to the point that he was afraid of leaving their 4 children with her. One evening, she was “out of control,” which resulted in his calling the police and her subsequent admission to an inpatient psych unit.
During today’s assessment, she appears quite calm and insists that the entire incident was “blown out of proportion.” She denies that she believed herself to be the prophet Mohammad and states that her husband was just out to get her because he never loved her and wanted an “American wife” instead of her. She says she knows this because the television is telling her so.
She currently weighs 140 lbs., and she is 5’ 5.
SUBJECTIVE
Client reports that her mood is “good.” She denies auditory/visual hallucinations but believes that the television talks to her. She believes that Allah sends her messages through the TV. At times throughout the clinical interview, she becomes hostile towards you but then calms down.
A review of her hospital records shows that she received a medical workup from a physician, who reported her to be in overall good health. Lab studies were all within normal limits.
Client admits that she was tolerating her Risperdal well but stopped taking about a week after she got out of the hospital because she thinks her husband is going to poison her so that he can marry an American woman.
MENTAL STATUS EXAM
The client is alert and oriented to person, place, time, and event. She is dressed appropriately for the weather and time of year. She demonstrates no noteworthy mannerisms, gestures, or tics. Her speech is slow and, at times, interrupted by periods of silence. Self-reported mood is euthymic. Affect is constricted. Although the client denies visual or auditory hallucinations, she appears to be “listening” to something. Delusional and paranoid thought processes as described above. Insight and judgment are impaired. She is currently denying suicidal or homicidal ideation.
You administer the PANSS which reveals the following scores:
-40 for the positive symptoms scale
-20 for the negative symptom scale
-60 for general psychopathology scale
Diagnosis: Schizophrenia, paranoid type
RESOURCES
PANSS Scale. Available at: http://egret.psychol.cam.ac.uk/medicine/scales/PANSS
Kay, S. R., Fiszbein, A., & Opler, L. A. (1987). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13(2), 261–276.
Clozapine REMS Program. (n.d.). Clozapine REMS: A guide for healthcare providers. Retrieved September 7, 2016, from https://www.clozapinerems.com/CpmgClozapineUI/rems/pdf/resources/Clozapine_REMS_A_Guide_for_Healthcare_Providers.pdf
Paz, Z., Nalls, M., and Ziv, E. (2011). The genetics of benign neutropenia. Israel Medical Association Journal, 13(10), 625–629. Retrieved from http://www.ima.org.il/FilesUpload/IMAJ/0/40/20149.pdf
NURS 6521 Examine Case Study on Pakistani Woman With Delusional Thought Processes
Decision Point One
Start Invega Sustenna 234 mg IM X1 followed by 156 mg IM on day 4 and monthly thereafter
RESULTS OF DECISION POINT ONE
- Client returns to clinic in four weeks
- A decrease in the PANSS score of 25% (in positive symtpoms) is noted at this visit
- Client seems to be tolerating medication
- Her husband has made sure she makes her appointments for injections (one thus far)
- She has noted a 2-pound weight gain, but it does not seem to be an important point for her
- She does, however, complain of injection-site pain, telling you that she has trouble sitting for a few hours after the injections and doesn’t like having to walk around for such a long period of time
Decision Point Two
RESULTS OF DECISION POINT TWO
- Client returns to clinic in four weeks
- Her PANNS has been reduced by a total of 50% (in positive symptoms) from the initiation of Invega Sustenna
- When questioned about injection-site pain, she states it is much better in the arm
- Her weight has increased by an additional 2.5 pounds (total of 4.5 pounds in a 2-month period). She is somewhat bothered by the weight gain and is afraid that her husband does not like it. He is not present at this visit as she brought herself
- She likes how she feels on the Invega Sustenna but is wondering if there is another drug like it that would not cause the weight gain
Decision Point Three
Guidance to Student
Weight gain can occur with Invega Sustenna. It is modest in nature and can be controlled with proper nutrition and exercise. It is always a good idea to try and control a client’s weight through consultation with a dietician and exercise physiologist (life coach) before switching to another agent when a product is showing efficacy for at least 6 months.
Abilify Maintena is a good option for someone who has good response to Abilify oral. Remember that Abilify does not bind to the D2 receptor for a great period of time (such as Invega) and can be less effective in certain individuals. Also, remember that akathisia can be a possible side effect. Once an IM long-acting medication is given, the effects of the drug (both efficacious and untoward effects) can be maintained for a long duration (up to a month or longer). Tolerability and efficacy should be established with oral medication before administering the first injection. Also a disadvantage to Abilify Maintena is that a 2-week overlap of oral therapy is required due to effective blood levels lagging behind the induction dose.
Qsymia is a weight loss medication that is a combination of phentermine and topiramate. It is only indicated to treat obesity. This client’s BMI (28.9 kg/M2) does not fit the definition of obesity (BMI >30 Kg/M2- Following from CDC website: Class 1: BMI of 30 to < 35, Class 2: BMI of 35 to < 40, Class 3: BMI of 40 or higher. Class 3 obesity is sometimes categorized as “extreme” or “severe” obesity). There are two things wrong with this therapy option. First, there are only a few occasions where add-on therapy to treat a side effect is acceptable, and weight gain is not one of those scenarios. Secondly, phentermine has a lot of cardiovascular toxicities (such as elevated BP, HR, and increased workload on the heart).
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