Nurse Clarisse is teaching a patient about a newly prescribed drug. What could cause a geriatric patient to have difficulty retaining knowledge about prescribed medications?
A. Decreased plasma drug levels
B. Sensory deficits
C. Lack of family support
D. History of Tourette syndrome
Correct Answer: B. Sensory deficits
Sensory deficits could cause a geriatric patient to have difficulty retaining knowledge about prescribed medications. Age-related decline of the five classical senses (vision, smell, hearing, touch, and taste) poses significant burdens on older adults. The co-occurrence of multiple sensory deficits in older adults is not well characterized and may reflect a common mechanism resulting in global sensory impairment.
Option A: Decreased plasma drug levels do not alter the patient’s knowledge about the drug. Aging has long been associated with decline in sensory function, a critical component of the health and quality of life of older people
Option C: A lack of family support may affect compliance, not knowledge retention. Vision impairment is correlated with depression, poor quality of life, cognitive decline, and mortality. Hearing loss is associated with slower gait speed (a marker of physical decline), poor cognition, and mortality. Like smell, taste has been associated with nutritional compromise and in-patient mortality, suggesting that chemosensory function is critical. Tactile discrimination declines with age due to the cumulative effects of decreased nerve conduction velocity, decreased density of Meissner’s and Pacinian corpuscles, and gray matter changes within the central nervous system, and is also associated with cognitive decline
Option D: Tourette syndrome is unrelated to knowledge retention. Tourette syndrome referred to as Tourette disorder in the recently updated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5), is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting up to 1% of the population. It is characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics and starts in childhood.