NURS 6521 Week 1 Discussion: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics essay response

NURS 6521 Week 1 Discussion: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics essay response

Thank you for your discussion on your patient with epilepsy. My son was diagnosed with epilepsy after a grand mal seizure when he was 9 years old. He is 14 years old now and had been seizure-free for 5 years so we were hoping we could ween him off the Valproic Acid that he was taking. We were scheduled for an appointment with his neurologist and that same week he had another grand mal seizure. Therefore unfortunately instead of that conversation about weaning him off the medication, we had to increase it due to his increase in age, weight, and puberty changes. There are so many variables when considering medication options for children especially teens going through puberty. In a recent study done on Valproic Acid (VPA) by Wang, Hu, & Li, (2020), discussed the variability of plasma drug concentrations on epilepsy patients. The study analyzed the correlation between concentration and efficacy according to the subgroups of age, gender, and co-medications (Wang, Hu, & Li, 2020). In the conclusion of the study, they realized that age could explain some of the inter-individual pharmacokinetics of VPA, however, gender was not related to concentration or efficacy. Thus suggesting that concentration monitoring is vital to children on this medication (Wang, Hu, & Li, 2020). NURS 6521 Week 1 Discussion: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics essay As future Nurse Practitioners, we must keep ourselves up to date and informed on various medication options as well as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics that play a role in each medication prescribed. Medical assessments, medical reconciliation, and physical assessments are essential for prescribing medications (Mitchell & Oliphant, 2016) NURS 6521 Week 1 Discussion: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics essay.

Mitchell, Alison, and Catherine M. Oliphant. “Responsibility for Ethical Prescribing.” The

Journal for Nurse Practitioners, vol. 12, no. 3, 2016, doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.01.008.

Wang, Y., Hu, W., & Li, Z. (2020). Influence of age and co-medication on the concentration and

efficacy of valproic acid in Chinese epilepsy children. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 33(2), 537–542. NURS 6521 Week 1 Discussion: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics essay