Question

you are the nurse working triage in the emergency department. this afternoon, a woman brings in her

father, K.B., who is 74 years old. the daughter reports that over the past year she has noticed her father has

progressively had problems with his mental capacity. these changes have developed gradually but seem

to be getting worse. at times he is alert and at other times he seems disoriented, depressed, and tearful.

He is forgetting things and doing things out of the ordinary, such as placing the milk in the cupboard and

sugar in the refrigerator. K.B. reports that he has been having memory problems for the past year and

at times has difficulty remembering the names of family members and friends. His neighbor found him

down the street 2 days ago, and K.B. did not know where he was. this morning he thought it was night-

time and wondered what his daughter was doing at his house. He could not pour his own coffee, and he

seems to be getting more agitated. a review of his past medical history is significant for hypercholester-

olemia and coronary artery disease. He had a myocardial infarction 5 years ago. K.B.'s vital signs today are all within normal limits. After review of K.B.'s history and diagnostic test results, K.B. is diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. The

physician calls a family conference to discuss the implications with K.B. and his daughter. K.B. is discharged and sees his primary care physician 2 days later. K.B. receives a prescription for donepe-

zil (Aricept) 5mg PO per night. As you review the prescription with K.B.'s daughter, she tells you that she is "excited" because she did not know there were medications that could cure Alzheimer's disease. Two weeks later, K.B.'s daughter calls the physician's office and states, "I realize that the Aricept will not

cure my dad, but there has been no improvement at all. Are we wasting our money?"

Write a end of shift SBAR report.

Answer 1