The Psychopharmacological Medication Agent

Week 7: Therapy for Patients With Schizophrenia

According to the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America, approximately 3.5 million people in the United States are diagnosed with schizophrenia (n.d.), and it is one of the leading causes of disability. In practice, patients may present with delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, disorganized or abnormal motor behavior, as well as other negative symptoms that can be disabling for these individuals. Not only are these symptoms one of the most challenging symptom clusters you will encounter, many are associated with other disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, and disorders on the schizophrenia spectrum. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you must understand the underlying neurobiology of these symptoms to select appropriate therapies and improve outcomes for patients.

This week, as you examine antipsychotic therapies, you explore the assessment and treatment of patients with psychosis and schizophrenia. You also consider ethical and legal implications of these therapies.

Reference:
Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America. (n.d.). About  schizophrenia.https://sardaa.org/resources/about-schizophrenia/#:~:text=Quick%20Facts%20About%20Schizophrenia.%20Schizophrenia%20can%20be%20found,is%20one%20of%20the%20leading%20causes%20of%20disability

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Assess client factors and history to develop personalized therapy plans for patients with insomnia

Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in patients requiring therapy for insomnia

Assess patient factors and history to develop personalized plans of antipsychotic therapy for patients

Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in patients requiring antipsychotic therapy

Synthesize knowledge of providing care to patients presenting for antipsychotic therapy

Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing antipsychotic therapy to patients across the lifespan

Learning Resources

Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)

Freudenreich, O., Goff, D. C., & Henderson, D. C. (2016). Antipsychotic drugs. In T. A. Stern, M. Favo, T. E. Wilens, & J. F. Rosenbaum. (Eds.), Massachusetts General Hospital psychopharmacology and neurotherapeutics (pp. 72–85). Elsevier.

American Psychiatric Association. (2019). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/Clinical%20Practice%20Guidelines/APA-Draft-Schizophrenia-Treatment-Guideline.pdf

Clozapine REMS. (2015). Clozapine REMS: The single shared system for clozapine. https://www.clozapinerems.com/CpmgClozapineUI/rems/pdf/resources/Clozapine_REMS_A_Guide_for_Healthcare_Providers.pdf

Funk, M. C., Beach, S. R., Bostwick, J. R., Celano, C. M., Hasnain, M., Pandurangi, A., Khandai, A., Taylor, A., Levenson, J. L., Riba, M., & Kovacs, R. J. (2018). Resource document on QTc prolongation and psychotropic medications. American Psychiatric Association. https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Directories/Library-and-Archive/resource_documents/Resource-Document-2018-QTc-Prolongation-and-Psychotropic-Med.pdf

Kay, S. R., Fiszbein, A., & Opler, L. A. (1987). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13(2), 261–276. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/13.2.261

Levenson, J. C., Kay, D. B., & Buysse, D. J. (2015). The pathophysiology of insomnia. Chest, 147(4), 1179–1192. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4388122/

McClellan, J. & Stock. S. (2013). Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with schizophrenia. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(9), 976–990. https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567(09)62600-9/pdf

Naber, D., & Lambert, M. (2009). The CATIE and CUtLASS studies in schizophrenia: Results and implications for clinicians. CNS Drugs, 23(8), 649–659. https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200923080-00002

Utah State University. (n.d.). Creating study guides. https://www.usu.edu/academic-support/test/creating_study_guides

Medication Resources (click to expand/reduce)

U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (n.d.). Drugs@FDA: FDA-approved drugs. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm

Note: To access the following medications, use the Drugs@FDA resource. Type the name of each medication in the keyword search bar. Select the hyperlink related to the medication

name you searched. Review the supplements provided and select the package label resource file associated with the medication you searched. If a label is not available, you may need to conduct a general search outside of this resource provided. Be sure to review the label information for each medication as this information will be helpful for your review in preparation for your Assignments.

Optional Resources (click to expand/reduce)

Assignment: Study Guide for Medication Treatment Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychosis Disorders

Psychosis and schizophrenia greatly impact the brain’s normal processes, which interfere with the ability to think clearly. When symptoms of these disorders are uncontrolled, patients may struggle to function in daily life. However, patients often thrive when properly diagnosed and treated under the close supervision of a psychiatric mental health practitioner. For this Assignment, you will develop a study guide for an assigned psychotropic agent for treating patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders. You will share your study guide with your colleagues. In sum, these study guides will be a powerful tool in preparing for your course and PMHNP certification exam.

To prepare for this Assignment:

Review this week’s Learning Resources, including the Medication Resources indicated for this week.

Reflect on the psychopharmacologic treatments you might recommend for  treatment of patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders.

Research your assigned psychotropic medication agent using the Walden Library. Then, develop an organizational scheme for the important information about the medication.

Review Learning Resource: Utah State University. (n.d.). Creating study guides. https://www.usu.edu/academic-support/test/creating_study_guides

The Assignment

Create a study guide for your assigned psychotropic medication agents. Your study guide should be in the form of an outline with references, and you should incorporate visual elements such as concept maps, charts, diagrams, images, color coding, mnemonics, and/or flashcards. Be creative! It should not be in the format of an APA paper. Your guide should be informed by the FDA-approved and Evidenced-Based, Clinical Practice Guidelines Research but also supported by at least three other scholarly resources.

Areas of importance you should address, but are not limited to, are:

Title page

Description of the Psychopharmacological medication agent including brand and generic names and appropriate FDA indication uses

Any supporting, valid and reliable research for non-FDA uses

Drug classification

The medication mechanism of action

The medication pharmacokinetics

The medication pharmacodynamics

Mechanism of Action

Appropriate dosing, administration route, and any considerations for dosing alterations

Considerations of use and dosing in specific specialty populations to consider children, adolescents, elderly, pregnancy, suicidal behaviors, etc.

Definition of Half-life, why half-life is important, and the half-life for your assigned medication 

Side effects/adverse reaction potentials

Contraindications for use including significant drug to drug interactions

Overdose Considerations

Diagnostics and labs monitoring

Comorbidities considerations

Legal and ethical considerations

Pertinent patient education considerations

Reference Page

Note: Support your rationale with a minimum of five academic resources. While you may use the course text to support your rationale, it will not count toward the resource requirement. You should be utilizing the primary and secondary literature.