Psychiatric Medications Q 67
When taking a health history from a female client who has a moderate level of cognitive impairment due to dementia, the nurse would expect to note the presence of:
A. Accentuated premorbid traits
B. Enhance intelligence
C. Increased inhibitions
D. Hypervigilance
Correct Answer: A. Accentuated premorbid traits
A moderate level of cognitive impairment due to dementia is characterized by increasing dependence on environment & social structure and by increasing psychological rigidity with accentuated previous traits & behaviors. There are some cases in which the cause of mild cognitive impairment is due to the effects of a treatable illness or disease. However, researchers have now determined that for most patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the MCI is a point along the pathway to dementia. The MCI is considered the stage between the mental changes that are seen in normal aging and early-stage dementia.
Option B: Example of memory and thinking problems that might be seen in someone with mild cognitive impairment including memory loss. Forgets recent events, repeats the same questions and the same stories forgets the names of close friends and family members, forgets appointments or planned events, forgets conversations, misplaces items often.
Option C: The patient struggles with planning and problem solving and has a hard time making decisions. May struggle, but can complete complex tasks such as paying bills, taking medications, shopping, cooking, household cleaning, driving.
Option D: Some gradual mental (cognitive) decline is seen with normal aging. For example, the ability to learn new information may be reduced, mental processing slows, speed of performance slows, and the ability to become distracted increases. However, these declines due to normal aging do not affect overall functioning or ability to perform activities of daily living. Normal aging does not affect recognition, intelligence, or long-term memory.