NURS 3100 Exam 1 Practice

What analysis does the nurse make for a client receiving 60 mg of a drug with a median toxic dose of 50 mg?

1. The amount of drug would have been lethal to 1/2 of the population

2. The efficacy and potency of this drug have not been well defined

3. The client will be at greater risk of adverse effects

4. It is likely the drug will not produce the desired effect

The correct answer is: The client will be at greater risk of adverse effects

The analysis that the nurse makes for a client receiving 60 mg of a drug with a median toxic dose of 50 mg is that the client will be at greater risk of adverse effects. This is because the median toxic dose of the drug is lower than the amount the client is receiving, indicating that the drug may have a higher likelihood of causing harmful side effects. Option A is incorrect because the median toxic dose represents the amount of the drug that would be lethal to half of the population, not the entire population. Option B is incorrect because while efficacy and potency are important factors in drug analysis, they are not specifically relevant to the toxicity of a drug. Option D is incorrect because while there is a possibility that the drug may not produce the desired effect, the analysis in this scenario is focused on the risk of adverse effects.