A depressed patient is being seen in the clinic and started a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)last week.She tells the nurse that she has some pills that she previously took for depression and that they are called MAOIs.She tells the nurse she thinks she should start taking them right now instead of her current medication,which isn't seeming to help her.The most important information the nurse should convey is:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The patient is at risk for a hypertensive crisis if she takes MAOIs after SSRIs without an appropriate washout period.The duration of the washout period is determined by the half-life of the SSRI.The other options are also part of patient education regarding MAOIs but are of lesser importance because they do not involve as immediate a safety risk as overlapping the SSRIs and MAOIs would present.

A Depressed Patient Is Being Seen in the Clinic and Started