The nurse administered a sleeping pill to an elderly patient at bedtime. Two hours later, the patient was irritable, restless, and unable to sleep. The nurse describes the patient's response as which type of reaction?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

An idiosyncratic reaction is not the result of a known pharmacologic property of a drug or of a patient allergy but instead occurs unexpectedly in a particular patient. Such a reaction is a genetically determined abnormal response to normal dosages of a drug. An allergic reaction (also known as a hypersensitivity reaction) involves the patient's immune system. Mutagenic effects are permanent changes in the genetic composition of living organisms and consist of alterations in chromosome structure, the number of chromosomes, or the genetic code of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule. Teratogenic effects of drugs or other chemicals result in structural defects in the fetus.

The Nurse Administered a Sleeping Pill to an Elderly Patient