Question

You are a RN working in community care, visiting Amita, a 76-year-old with a chronic and painful venous ulcer on her lower leg. She takes multiple medications for chronic illness, and a codeine-based medication for pain. Amita lives alone in her own home.

3. How would Amita’s chronic pain impact on her ability to maintain a safe environment?

4. Why is Amita, as an older adult, more vulnerable to adverse drug events?

Answer 1

3.As Amitha is someone who lives alone and she suffers from chronic pain of leg,it can be difficult for her to walk around and do her hygiene chores on her own(like bathing,cleaning her house or disinfect her wound).As a result ,it can even lead to infect her ulcer wound which can complicate her wound towards limb deprivation or even to squamous cell carcinoma.

Severe pain may also lead to sleep disturbaces and loss of appetite.

Codeine based medication for pain can also cause constipation in some cases.

4.Adverse drug events are more prominent in older adults because:

a)Age related physiological changes can effect pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics influencing volume of distribution leading to toxicity.

b)Older people are more sensitive to medication.eg:excessive sedation and confusion with morphine.

c)Decreased ability of liver to process drugs.

d)Decreased ability of kidney to excrete the drug out of the body.