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Nitroglycerin

This patient has a history of heart attacks and heart failure and is experiencing acute chest pain. Sublingual nitroglycerin 0.4 mg is an appropriate treatment as it works quickly to relieve angina and the dose and route are reasonable. Nitroglycerin comes in several forms for acute or preventative use. The guidelines state to give one tablet initially and can give up to two more tablets five minutes apart if the pain is not relieved, to a maximum of three doses. The medication found is the correct dose of 0.4 mg nitrostat tablets for sublingual administration. Effectiveness will be determined by whether the patient's chest pain improves and monitoring heart rate. Blood pressure should be checked prior to each dose

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Chrissy Reed
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135 views2 pages

Nitroglycerin

This patient has a history of heart attacks and heart failure and is experiencing acute chest pain. Sublingual nitroglycerin 0.4 mg is an appropriate treatment as it works quickly to relieve angina and the dose and route are reasonable. Nitroglycerin comes in several forms for acute or preventative use. The guidelines state to give one tablet initially and can give up to two more tablets five minutes apart if the pain is not relieved, to a maximum of three doses. The medication found is the correct dose of 0.4 mg nitrostat tablets for sublingual administration. Effectiveness will be determined by whether the patient's chest pain improves and monitoring heart rate. Blood pressure should be checked prior to each dose

Uploaded by

Chrissy Reed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Nitroglycerin – Nitrostat – 0.

4 mg
Is this dose/frequency reasonable for this patient? Is there any other
route to give this drug?

This patient suffers acute angina related to two previous myocardial infarctions and
heart failure. Since sublingual nitroglycerin 0.3 – 0.6 mg is used for acute
treatment of angina pectoris, this medication is appropriate to abort an ongoing
angina attack.

Nitroglycerin is available in many forms. Sublingual tablets, powders and


translingual sprays have a rapid onset of 1 – 3 minutes. Capsules are available as
sustained release (SR), transdermal patches and topical ointments for sustained
prophylaxis against angina. IV nitroglycerin can be used for angina in patients that
have failed to respond to other medications.

What times will you give this medication?

The patient should use sublingual nitroglycerin tablets as soon as she feels angina,
and should not delay until pain is severe. Current guidelines state for patient to
take 1 tablet, and if pain is not relived in five minutes, take another tablet. If 5
minutes later the patient is still in pain, she can take one more dose for a
maximum of 3 doses.

What quantity of the medication (on hand) will you give? Is the med found
in the mock medication drawer the correct dose?

The patient will receive one tablet of 0.4 mg per dose, up to 3 doses every 5
minutes for a single event. The medication in the mock drawer is correct, as
Nitrostat is available as a sublingual tablet in dosages of 0.3 mg, 0.4 mg, or 0.6
mg.

How will you know this mediation is having its desired effect? What is a
priority assessment that may need to be monitored and documented prior
to administration?

Since Nitrostat sublingual tablets are used to treat angina, knowing if the
medication is working will be assessed by the patient directly in stating whether she
has continued, increasing, or decreasing angina. Monitoring of heart rate will also
indicate if the medication is effective.

Blood pressure should be checked before administration. Nitroglycerin can cause


hypotension, so the dose may need to be held if systolic BP < 90 mm Hg or more
than 30 mm Hg below baseline.

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