Question

A graduate student has become increasingly suspicious of others, is experiencing auditory hallucinations, and is brought to the emergency department experiencing a psychotic episode. The client is in good physical health but has allergies to penicillin, prochlorperazine (Compazine), and bee stings. Base on this assessment data, which antipsychotic medication would be contraindicated?

A.) Haloperidol because it is used only in elderly patients
B.) Clozapine because it is incompatible with desipramine
C.) Risperidone because it exacerbates symptoms of depression
D.) Thioridazine because of cross-sensitivity among phenothiazines.

Answer 1

Thioridazine is contraindicated for a patient with a psychotic episode who has an allergy to prochlorperazine, due to cross-sensitivity among phenothiazines.

Step-by-step explanation:

The antipsychotic medication that would be contraindicated based on the presented case is Thioridazine because of cross-sensitivity among phenothiazines. The patient has an allergy to prochlorperazine (Compazine), which is a member of the phenothiazine class of antipsychotics. Since Thioridazine is also a phenothiazine, there is a significant risk that the patient could have a cross-reactive allergic reaction to it, similar to their known allergy to prochlorperazine.

Other listed medications such as Haloperidol, Clozapine, and Risperidone do not have contraindications based on the information given. Haloperidol is not solely used for elderly patients, Clozapine's compatibility with desipramine is not relevant in this scenario, and Risperidone's impact on depression does not contraindicate its use in a psychotic episode unless it's specifically exacerbated in the patient.