Assessing and Treating Patients with Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is classified in the DSM V as a collection of mental diseases characterized by severe swings in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. In bipolar disorder, periods of deep, protracted, and severe depression are followed by periods of mania marked by an overly high or irritable mood. These periods alternate with periods of sadness (APA, 2013). A manic episode is characterized by a dramatic shift in one’s normal behavior. Symptoms include: inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, increased chatter, decreased sleep requirements, racing thoughts, ease of distraction, a rise in activity focused on achieving goals, and engaging in harmful behaviors (APA, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to examine a case study of a patient with bipolar disorder and to present a treatment plan for that patient in the form of a decision tree.

Case Study Overview

The case scenario depicts a 26-year-old woman of Korean descent on her first appointment after a 21-day hospitalization for acute mania. The client has been diagnosed with bipolar I disorder. Her current weight is 110 pounds, and her height is 5’ 5. She describes her mood as fantastic and mentions that she sleeps roughly 5 hours/night, but she hates sleep because it is not fun (Laureate Education, 2016). The client’s patient records show that she is in overall good health and her lab results are within normal limits. However, genetic testing shows that she is positive for the CYP2D6*10 allele. The client admits that she stopped taking Lithium after being discharged two weeks ago. On MSE, the client is alert and oriented to person, place, time, and event. Her dressing is odd, and her speech is rapid, pressured, and tangential. Her self-reported mood is euthymic, and her affect is broad. She denies visual or auditory hallucinations, and she has no overt delusional or paranoid thought processes readily apparent (Laureate Education, 2016). Her insight is impaired, but she denies suicidal or homicidal ideation. She scores 22 on the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS).

Read Also: NURS 6630 Week 4 Therapy for Patients With MDD

Decision Point One

Begin Lithium 300 mg orally BID.

Why I Selected This Decision

Lithium is a mood stabilizer recommended for treating Mania in Bipolar disorder and maintenance therapy of bipolar disorder in persons with a history of mania. I selected Lithium because it targets unstable mood, which is the major symptom of mania (Won & Kim, 2017). Besides, mania is recommended as first-line therapy for long-term prevention of Bipolar disorder, particularly for euphoric mania.

I did not select Seroquel because it has documented side effects of dry mouth, fatigue, constipation, and dizziness, contributing to decreased medication compliance. Seroquel is also associated with increased appetite and weight and elevated triglycerides and total cholesterol levels (Shah et al., 2017). The side effects make it an inappropriate drug since the client is overweight. I did not select Risperdal since the patient was positive for the CYP2D6*10 allele. According to Puangpetch et al. (2016), the CYP2D6*10 allele slows the drug’s clearance resulting in high levels of Risperdal in the blood, causing sedation.

Bipolar disorder is a unique disorder that causes shifts in mood and energy, which results in depression and mania for patients. Proper diagnosis of this disorder is often a challenge for two reasons: 1) patients often present as depressive or manic but may have both; and 2) many symptoms of bipolar disorder are similar to other disorders. Misdiagnosis is common, making it essential for you to have a deep understanding of the disorder’s pathophysiology. For this Assignment, as you examine the patient case study in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat patients presenting with bipolar disorder.

To prepare for this Assignment:

Review this week’s Learning Resources, including the Medication Resources indicated for this week.
Reflect on the psychopharmacologic treatments you might recommend for the assessment and treatment of patients requiring bipolar therapy.

The Assignment: 5 pages

Examine Case Study: An Asian American Woman. Diagnosis-Bipolar Disorder. You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this patient. Be sure to consider factors that might impact the patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes. Case Study An Asian American Woman Diagnosis-Bipolar Disorder NURS 6630

At each decision point, you should evaluate all options before selecting your decision and moving throughout the exercise. Before you make your decision, make sure that you have researched each option and that you evaluate the decision that you will select. Be sure to research each option using the primary literature. Case Study An Asian American Woman Diagnosis-Bipolar Disorder NURS 6630

Introduction to the case (1 page)

Briefly explain and summarize the case for this Assignment. Be sure to include the specific patient factors that may impact your decision making when prescribing medication for this patient.

Decision #1 (1 page)

Which decision did you select?
Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

Decision #2 (1 page)

Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

Decision #3 (1 page)

Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples. Case Study An Asian American Woman Diagnosis-Bipolar Disorder NURS 6630

Conclusion (1 page)

Summarize your recommendations on the treatment options you selected for this patient. Be sure to justify your recommendations and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

Note: Support your rationale with a minimum of five academic resources. While you may use the course text to support your rationale, it will not count toward the resource requirement. You should be utilizing the primary and secondary literature.

Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general#s-lg-box-20293632). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

By Day 7

Submit your Assignment.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK5Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
Click the Week 5 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
Click the Week 5 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK5Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
Click on the Submit button to complete your submission. Case Study An Asian American Woman Diagnosis-Bipolar Disorder NURS 6630

Week 5: Therapy for Patients With Bipolar Disorders

Marcus, an 18-year-old high school senior, presents with symptoms of difficulty sleeping and feeling sad, which result in an initial diagnosis of depression. His mother later reports, however, that Marcus exhibits symptoms of irritability and risk-taking behaviors. (His little brother reported to his mother that they were driving over 90 miles an hour on the highway.) After further evaluation, Marcus’ psychiatric nurse practitioner diagnoses him with bipolar disorder.

Cases like this are not uncommon with bipolar disorder, as initial assessments rarely provide all the information needed. In your role, as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you must develop strategies for properly assessing and diagnosing these patients because treatments for bipolar disorder are significantly different than treatments for depression or other mood disorders.

This week, as you examine bipolar therapies, you explore the assessment and treatment of patients with bipolar disorder. You also consider ethical and legal implications of these therapies. Case Study An Asian American Woman Diagnosis-Bipolar Disorder NURS 6630

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Assess patient factors and history to develop personalized plans of bipolar therapy for patients
Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in patients requiring bipolar therapy
Synthesize knowledge of providing care to patients presenting for bipolar therapy
Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing bipolar therapy to patients across the life span

Learning Resources

Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)

Ostacher, M. J., & Hsin, H. (2016). The use of antiepileptic drugs in psychiatry. In T. A. Stern, M. Favo, T. E. Wilens, & J. F. Rosenbaum. (Eds.), Massachusetts General Hospital psychopharmacology and neurotherapeutics (pp. 93–98). Elsevier.

Perlis, R. H., & Ostacher, M. J. (2016a). Bipolar disorder. In T. A. Stern, M. Favo, T. E. Wilens, & J. F. Rosenbaum. (Eds.), Massachusetts General Hospital psychopharmacology and neurotherapeutics (pp. 48–60). Elsevier.

Perlis, R. H., & Ostacher, M. J. (2016b). Lithium and its role in psychiatry. In T. A. Stern, M. Favo, T. E. Wilens, & J. F. Rosenbaum. (Eds.), Massachusetts General Hospital psychopharmacology and neurotherapeutics (pp. 86–92). Elsevier.

Traeger, L., Brennan, M. M., & Herman, J. B. (2016). Treatment adherence. In T. A. Stern, M. Favo, T. E. Wilens, & J. F. Rosenbaum. (Eds.), Massachusetts General Hospital psychopharmacology and neurotherapeutics (pp. 20–26). Elsevier.

American Psychiatric Association. (2010b). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder (2nd ed.). https://psychiatryonline.org/pb/assets/raw/sitewide/practice_guidelines/guidelines/bipolar.pdf

Chen, R., Wang, H., Shi, J., Shen, K., & Hu, P. (2015). Cytochrome P450 2D6 genotype affects the pharmacokinetics of controlled-release paroxetine in healthy Chinese subjects: Comparison of traditional phenotype and activity score systems. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 71(7), 835–841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-015-1855-6

Hirschfeld, R. M. A. (n.d.). Guideline watch: Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder (2nd ed.). https://psychiatryonline.org/pb/assets/raw/sitewide/practice_guidelines/guidelines/bipolar-watch.pdf

Vitiello, B. (2013). How effective are the current treatments for children diagnosed with manic/mixed bipolar disorder? CNS Drugs, 27(5), 331–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-013-0060-3

Medication Resources (click to expand/reduce)

IBM Corporation. (2020). IBM Micromedex.

https://www.micromedexsolutions.com/micromedex2/librarian/deeplinkaccess?source=deepLink&institution=SZMC%5ESZMC%5ET43537

Note: To access the following medications, use the IBM Micromedex resource. Type the name of each medication in the keyword search bar. Be sure to read all sections on the left navigation bar related to each medication’s result page, as this information will be helpful for your review in preparation for your Assignments.

Review the following medications:

amitriptyline bupropion citalopram clomipramine desipramine desvenlafaxine doxepin duloxetine escitalopram fluoxetine fluvoxamine	imipramine ketamine mirtazapine nortriptyline paroxetine selegiline sertraline trazodone venlafaxine vilazodone vortioxetine

Required Media (click to expand/reduce)

Case Study: An Asian American Woman with Bipolar Disorder
Note: This case study will serve as the foundation for this week’s Assignment.

Optional Resources (click to expand/reduce)

Mostafavi, A., Solhi, M., Mohammadi, M., Hamedi, M., Keshavarzi, M., & Akhondzadeh, S. (2014). Melatonin decreases olanzapine induced metabolic side-effects in adolescents with bipolar disorder: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Acta Medica Iranica, 52(10), 734–739. http://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta

Bipolar Therapy Client of Korean Descent/Ancestry

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The client is a 26-year-old woman of Korean descent who presents to her first appointment following a 21-day hospitalization for onset of acute mania. She was diagnosed with bipolar I disorder.

Upon arrival in your office, she is quite “busy,” playing with things on your desk and shifting from side to side in her chair. She informs you that “they said I was bipolar, I don’t believe that, do you? I just like to talk, and dance, and sing. Did I tell you that I liked to cook?”

She weights 110 lbs. and is 5’ 5”

SUBJECTIVE

Patient reports “fantastic” mood. Reports that she sleeps about 5 hours/night to which she adds “I hate sleep, it’s no fun.”

You reviewed her hospital records and find that she has been medically worked up by a physician who reported her to be in overall good health. Lab studies were all within normal limits. You find that the patient had genetic testing in the hospital (specifically GeneSight testing) as none of the medications that they were treating her with seemed to work.

Genetic testing reveals that she is positive for CYP2D6*10 allele.

Patient confesses that she stopped taking her lithium (which was prescribed in the hospital) since she was discharged two weeks ago.

MENTAL STATUS EXAM

The patient is alert, oriented to person, place, time, and event. She is dressed quite oddly- wearing what appears to be an evening gown to her appointment. Speech is rapid, pressured, tangential. Self-reported mood is euthymic. Affect broad. Patient denies visual or auditory hallucinations, no overt delusional or paranoid thought processes readily apparent. Judgment is grossly intact, but insight is clearly impaired. She is currently denying suicidal or homicidal ideation.

The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) score is 22

RESOURCES

§ Chen, R., Wang, H., Shi, J., Shen, K., & Hu, P. (2015). Cytochrome P450 2D6 genotype affects the pharmacokinetics of controlled-release paroxetine in healthy Chinese subjects: comparison of traditional phenotype and activity score systems. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 71(7), 835-841. doi:10.1007/s00228-015-1855-6

Decision Point One

Select what you should do:

Begin Lithium 300 mg orally BID

Begin Risperdal 1 mg orally BID

Begin Seroquel XR 100 mg orally at HS

Decision Point One

Begin Lithium 300 mg orally BID

RESULTS OF DECISION POINT ONE

Client returns to clinic in four weeks
Client informs you that she has been taking her drug “off and on” only when she “feels like she needs it”
Today’s presentation is similar to the first day you met her

Decision Point Two

Select what you should do next:

Increase Lithium to 450 mg orally BID

Assess rationale for non-compliance to elicit reason for non-compliance and educate client re: drug effects, and pharmacology

Switch to Depakote ER 500 mg orally at HS

Decision Point One

Begin Lithium 300 mg orally BID

RESULTS OF DECISION POINT ONE

Client returns to clinic in four weeks
Client informs you that she has been taking her drug “off and on” only when she “feels like she needs it”
Today’s presentation is similar to the first day you met her

Decision Point Two

Increase Lithium to 450 mg orally BID

RESULTS OF DECISION POINT TWO

Client returns to clinic in four weeks
Client returns reports that she is still taking the medication when she feels that she needs it
She remains quite manic and reports that her family is getting really upset because she likes to play her new guitar at night

Decision Point Three

Assess for rationale for non-compliance and educate client

Guidance to Student
You should further assess for dangerousness to self or others. The client should be assessed for self-care, to including hygiene, eating, sleeping, etc. Hospitalization may be indicated if the client remains non-compliant and is a danger to self. If the client is not a danger to self, and hospitalization is not indicated, you needs to assess for rationale for non-compliance. Many clients enjoy mania as it is a nice feeling to be consistently happy. When clients are successfully treated for mania, they often describe themselves as feeling ‘down’ or ‘flat.’ You need to assess for depression at this point as opposed to normalization of mood. Abilify is also FDA approved as monotherapy for mania and mixed presentations, but at a dose of 15 mg. day., so although you may be tempted to begin Abilify- be certain to use correct dose. Also, because it can be “activating” you need to dose this drug in the morning. However, the client is non-compliant and therefore, eliciting reasons for non-compliance is essential to the care of this client.

Decision Point One

Begin Risperdal 1 mg orally BID

RESULTS OF DECISION POINT ONE

Client returns to clinic in four weeks
Client is accompanied today by her mother who must help the client into your office, the client looks very sedated and lethargic
Client’s mother explains that “she has been like this since about a week after the last office visit”

Decision Point Two

Discontinue Risperdal and start Lithium sustained release 300 mg orally BID

RESULTS OF DECISION POINT TWO

Client returns to clinic in four weeks
Client no longer lethargic after the end of the first week
Client has a slight decrease in her Young Mania Rating Scale (from 22 to 19)
Client reports that her sleep is again decreasing, but that overall, she is happy

Decision Point Three

Increase Lithium SR to 450 mg orally BID

Guidance to Student
Recall that the client is of Korean descent and is positive for CYP2D6*10 allele. As a result, she may be demonstrating slower clearance of Risperdal from her system, resulting in higher than normal levels of Risperdal in the blood, resulting in sedation. The client responded well to the discontinuation of Risperdal and after about a week of drug cessation, she was no longer lethargic/sedate. However, in the following 3 weeks, she had experienced increased symptoms, although a slight improvement in YMSR score was noted. You could make no changes at this time and allow the lithium to remain at its current dose for an additional 4 weeks and reassess. Conversely, you can increase the lithium to 450 mg orally BID and then reassess in 4. The additional milligrams may hasten mood stabilization. Risperdal 0.5 mg orally BID may be appropriate if the clients’ symptoms are worsening, however, you would need to have the client return to the office sooner than 4 weeks for an interim visit to assess effects of drug and presence of somnolence/lethargy.

Rubric Detail

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Name: NURS_6630_Week5_Assignment_Rubric
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List View
Excellent

Point range: 90–100 Good

Point range: 80–89 Fair

Point range: 70–79 Poor

Point range: 0–69
Introduction to the case (1 page)

Briefly explain and summarize the case for this Assignment. Be sure to include the specific patient factors that may impact your decision making when prescribing medication for this patient.
9 (9%) – 10 (10%)
The response accurately, clearly, and fully summarizes in detail the case for the Assignment.

The response accurately and clearly explains in detail the specific patient factors that impact decision making when prescribing medication for this patient.
8 (8%) – 8 (8%)
The response accurately summarizes the case for the Assignment.

The response accurately explains the specific patient factors that impact decision making with prescribing medication for this patient.
7 (7%) – 7 (7%)
The response inaccurately or vaguely summarizes the case for the Assignment.

The response inaccurately or vaguely explains the specific patient factors that impact decision making with prescribing medication for this patient.
0 (0%) – 6 (6%)
The response inaccurately and vaguely summarizes the case for the Assignment, or is missing.

The response inaccurately and vaguely explains the specific patient factors that impact decision making with prescribing medication for this patient.
Decision #1 (1–2 pages)

• Which decision did you select?
• Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
• Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
• What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
• Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.
18 (18%) – 20 (20%)
The response accurately and clearly explains in detail the decision selected.

The response accurately and clearly explains in detail why the decision was selected, with specific clinically relevant resources that fully support the decision selected.

The response accurately and clearly explains in detail why the other two responses were not selected, with specific clinically relevant resources that fully support the response.

The response accurately and clearly explains in detail the outcome the student was hoping to achieve with the selected decision, with specific clinically relevant resources that fully support the response.

The response accurately and clearly explains in detail how ethical considerations impact the treatment plan and communication with patients.

Examples provided fully support the decisions and responses provided.
16 (16%) – 17 (17%)
The response accurately explains the decision selected.

The response explains why the decision was selected, with specific clinically relevant resources that support the decision selected.

The response accurately explains why the other two responses were not selected, with specific clinically relevant resources that support the response.

The response accurately explains the outcome the student was hoping to achieve with the selected decision, with specific clinically relevant resources that support the response.

The response accurately explains how ethical considerations impact the treatment plan and communication with patients.

Examples provided support the decisions and responses provided.
14 (14%) – 15 (15%)
The response inaccurately or vaguely explains the decision selected.

The response inaccurately or vaguely explains why the decision was selected, with specific clinically relevant resources that inaccurately or vaguely support the decision selected.

The response inaccurately or vaguely explains why the other two responses were not selected, with specific clinically relevant resources that inaccurately or vaguely support the response.

The response inaccurately or vaguely explains the outcome the student was hoping to achieve with the selected decision, with specific clinically relevant resources that inaccurately or vaguely support the response.

The response inaccurately or vaguely explains how ethical considerations impact the treatment plan and communication with patients.

Examples provided may support the decisions and responses provided.
0 (0%) – 13 (13%)
The response inaccurately and vaguely explains the decision selected.

The response inaccurately and vaguely explains why the decision was selected, with specific clinically relevant resources that do not support the decision selected, or is missing.

The response inaccurately and vaguely explains why the other two responses were not selected, with specific clinically relevant resources that do not support the decision selected, or is missing.

The response inaccurately and vaguely explains the outcome the student was hoping to achieve with the selected decision, with specific clinically relevant resources that do not support the response, or is missing.

The response inaccurately and vaguely explains how ethical considerations impact the treatment plan and communication with patients, or is missing.

Examples provided do not support the decisions and responses provided, or is missing.
Decision #2 (1–2 pages)