Final answer:
The nurse would monitor for constipation as a gastrointestinal side effect of benztropine in a client with Parkinson's disease. Benztropine is an anticholinergic drug that can decrease gut motility. Parkinson's disease is associated with the degeneration of dopamine-releasing neurons in the midbrain.
Step-by-step explanation:
A client with Parkinson's disease has been prescribed benztropine. The nurse monitors for which gastrointestinal (GI) side effect of this medication? The correct answer is C. Constipation.
Benztropine is an anticholinergic drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Parkinson-like symptoms, such as muscle rigidity and tremors. This type of medication can lead to a variety of side effects, particularly affecting the gastrointestinal system. One common gastrointestinal side effect associated with anticholinergic drugs like benztropine is constipation. It results from the medication's effect of decreasing the motility of the muscle in the gut, leading to slowed movement of stool through the digestive system.
Parkinson's disease itself is a degenerative brain disorder caused by the progressive death of neurons in the midbrain that release dopamine. This degeneration causes the muscular symptoms of tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural instability that characterize the disease.