MEDICAL SURGICAL NURSING - EPILEPSY

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MEDICAL- SURGICAL NURSING DR. T. MERCENE DNP, MSN, BSN, RNBCSCENARIO  The patient is a 38 year old woman with a history of seizures since birth who arrives with her sister. She is otherwise in... good health. Her current diagnosis is epilepsy. Her aura is a very brief "strange sensation." She is amnesic for the ictal period but family members report that she becomes quiet with a blank stare and then yells “Jesus help me” several times while pulling at her clothing. Occasionally family will report that she developed tonic-clonic activity and rarely she has been incontinent. After the seizure she is fatigued and confused and often has a headaches.SCENARIO  Phenytoin, phenobarbital, valproic acid, and experimental medications have been tried in the past. Her sister has been instructed on administering lorazepam when she is experiencing several consecutive seizures that occur over a 15-minute period or after her second bilaterally evolved focal seizure for the day. Her sister administers the lorazepam approximately once every 2 weeks but there is no regular pattern to it. One week, she may not require any lorazepam; the next week, she may require it several times [Show More]

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