Alcohol Use Disorder Drugs

Every question here, with the answer

1. A client admitted for surgery drinks heavily every day. Twenty hours after the last drink, the client is anxious, restless and seeing things that are not there. What is the nurse's priority concern?

   1. Opioid withdrawal
   2. Normal postoperative anxiety
   3. Alcohol intoxication
   4. Alcohol withdrawal, which can progress to seizures and can be fatal

   Answer: Alcohol withdrawal, which can progress to seizures and can be fatal

   Anxiety, restlessness and hallucinations after stopping chronic alcohol use are signs of alcohol withdrawal, which can be fatal and must be managed promptly. The client has not been drinking, so this is not intoxication, and it is not simple postoperative anxiety.

2. A client in alcohol withdrawal has a seizure on the unit. Which drug does the nurse expect to give?

   1. Lorazepam
   2. Metronidazole
   3. Haloperidol
   4. Disulfiram

   Answer: Lorazepam

   Lorazepam is the drug of choice for alcohol withdrawal-induced seizures. Haloperidol lowers the seizure threshold, and disulfiram is a deterrent that does not treat withdrawal.

3. A client is starting disulfiram. Which products should the nurse teach the client to avoid? Select all that apply.

   1. Plain water
   2. Beer
   3. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer
   4. Mouthwash containing alcohol
   5. Cough syrup containing alcohol

   Answer: Beer, Alcohol-based hand sanitizer, Mouthwash containing alcohol, Cough syrup containing alcohol

   Even small amounts of alcohol, including mouthwashes, cough syrups and hand sanitizers, can cause a disulfiram reaction, as can alcoholic drinks. Water contains no alcohol.

4. A client asks whether it is safe to have a drink one week after stopping disulfiram. What is the nurse's best response?

   1. Yes, as long as you drink with food.
   2. No, you can never drink alcohol again after taking disulfiram.
   3. Yes, disulfiram leaves the body within a day.
   4. No, a reaction can still occur up to 2 weeks after stopping disulfiram.

   Answer: No, a reaction can still occur up to 2 weeks after stopping disulfiram.

   Disulfiram reactions can occur up to 2 weeks after the drug is stopped, so alcohol should be avoided for that period. There is no lifelong ban in the section, and food does not prevent the reaction.

5. A client is receiving chlordiazepoxide for alcohol withdrawal. Which nursing actions are appropriate? Select all that apply.

   1. Advise the client not to combine the drug with alcohol or opioids.
   2. Keep seizure rescue medication available.
   3. Assess for oversedation.
   4. Encourage the client to drink small amounts of alcohol to ease withdrawal.
   5. Teach the client not to operate heavy machinery.

   Answer: Advise the client not to combine the drug with alcohol or opioids., Keep seizure rescue medication available., Assess for oversedation., Teach the client not to operate heavy machinery.

   Chlordiazepoxide can accumulate and oversedate, causes sedation and memory impairment, and combining it with other CNS depressants raises the risk of respiratory depression; clients with significant AUD should be monitored for seizures with rescue drugs available. Drinking alcohol with it increases oversedation.

6. A family member asks the nurse to secretly put disulfiram in a client's coffee to stop them drinking. What is the nurse's best response?

   1. Agree, as long as the dose is small.
   2. Suggest giving it only when the client is intoxicated.
   3. Explain that disulfiram must never be given without the client's full knowledge.
   4. Recommend mixing it with orange juice instead.

   Answer: Explain that disulfiram must never be given without the client's full knowledge.

   Disulfiram should never be given to a client who is intoxicated or without their full knowledge, and the provider should instruct relatives of this. Hiding it in any drink or giving it during intoxication breaks this warning.