In: Nursing
You are the nurse caring for a patient who was prescribed IV Solu-Medrol (corticosteroid) for exacerbation of COPD. In developing your teaching plan, you recognize that which of the following is a side effect of this medication?
Insomnia
Hyponatremia
Hypoglycemia
Hypercalcemia
answer
corticosteroid adminstration can cause sleep disturbance and insomnia, this side effects increases with increasing dose of steroid. the ability to wake up and sleep are controlled by chemicals in the brain, these chemicals are disturbed by steroids and causes insomnia.
to avoid this side effects , try to take steroid in the morning after taking food.
normaly hypothalamo pitutary adrenal axis control the production of endogenous steroid from adrenal gland.
normaly cortsol rise rapidly after wakening , peak values reaches within 30 to 45 minutes after wake up. then gradualy falls over the day. rising again in late after noon. level fall in late evening , reaching a trough during the middle of night. this corruspondance to rest - activity cycle of humans. any alteration in this level of steroid in body may leads to insomnia and other central effects.
steroid causes hypernatremia , hypocalcemia and hyperglycemia as side effects.