The nurse is educating the family of a patient who is receiving hospice care due to a terminal illness. Which medication should the nurse tell the family to administer for this patient if delirium occurs?

Enhance your understanding of Palliative and End-of-Life Care. Use flashcards and multiple-choice questions with hints and explanations. Get prepared for your test!

Multiple Choice

The nurse is educating the family of a patient who is receiving hospice care due to a terminal illness. Which medication should the nurse tell the family to administer for this patient if delirium occurs?

Delirium in terminal illness is common and often warrants a fast-acting agent to calm agitation and reduce confusion. Haloperidol is the medication of choice in hospice and palliative care for delirium because it acts quickly to control delirium-related symptoms such as agitation and hallucinations without adding heavy anticholinergic burden. It can be given by oral or injectable routes, allowing rapid effect when agitation is distressing for the patient and family.

Other options don’t fit as well because morphine addresses pain but can worsen delirium or contribute to sedation; diphenhydramine has strong anticholinergic effects that can worsen confusion; and docusate is a stool softener with no role in treating delirium.

The nurse is educating the family of a patient who is receiving hospice care due to a terminal illness. Which medication should the nurse tell the family to administer for this patient if delirium occurs?

Enhance your understanding of Palliative and End-of-Life Care. Use flashcards and multiple-choice questions with hints and explanations. Get prepared for your test!

The nurse is educating the family of a patient who is receiving hospice care due to a terminal illness. Which medication should the nurse tell the family to administer for this patient if delirium occurs?

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