Question

A 61 year old male patient comes to the clinic with cough, shortness of breath, heavy sputum, fever and chills. His past medical history include hypercholesterolemia and hypertension. Medications are simvastatin (Zocor) 40. mg/d and Lostartan (Cozaar). He has no known allergies. The nurse practitioner orders a chest x-ray, which shows consolidation. The patient is diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia. Which of the following antibiotics should the nurse practitioner not order for this patient?

a. Erythromycin
b. Doxycycline (Vibramycin)
c. Ceftriaxone (Rocephin)
d. Penicillin

Answer 1

The antibiotic erythromycin should not be ordered for the 61-year-old patient with community-acquired pneumonia who is taking simvastatin, due to potential serious drug interactions.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the case of a 61-year-old male diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia, the nurse practitioner must be cautious in prescribing certain antibiotics that may interact with the patient's current medications or have contraindications based on his medical history. While erythromycin, doxycycline (Vibramycin), and ceftriaxone (Rocephin) are generally considered safe and effective choices for treating community-acquired pneumonia, the use of erythromycin should be avoided in this patient's case due to potential drug interactions with simvastatin. Erythromycin can increase the concentration of simvastatin in the blood, potentially leading to serious side effects such as muscle toxicity and rhabdomyolysis.

Therefore, the correct answer is: a. Erythromycin should not be ordered for this patient.