Question

You are the emergency department nurse caring for Mr. Adams a 76-year-old man who sustained a fracture to his right femur and left ankle when he fell off the roof of his two-story home. Your patient is complaining of pain that is a 9 on a scale of 0 to 10. You note that he has no medications ordered for pain. 1. Which route of administration for the pain medication might be best for this patient and why? 2. What type of dosage adjustment would you expect for this patient and why? 3. Older adults like Mr. Adams are at a higher risk of adverse reactions. List the 4 component of pharmacokinetics and how Mr. Adams age effects these processes.

Answer 1

1. Intravenous route of drug administration might be best as patient needs quick relief from severe pain.

2. Lesser dosage of the drug should be administered as compared to effective dosage in youngsters. As older adults are at increased risk of sensitivity to analgesic medications.

3. 4 components of pharmacokinetics that are affected in older adults are:

1. absorption of the drug decreases leading to gastrointestinal side effects because of age related increase in gastric acidity.
2. With age, body fat increases and total body water decreases which increases the distribution of drugs
3. metabolism of drugs decrease therefore lesser dosage is required.
4. similarly, excretion of drugs decreases due to decreased tubular function