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16
PHARMACY PREP

ANXIETY DISORDERS

1. Ms X is a 32-year old woman, who comes into your pharmacy to seek help on finding a
good lotion for her hands. You noticed that her hands are extremely chapped and raw. In
order to make the best product suggestion to her, you ask her more questions to determine the
cause. After some discussion, she admits to you that she washes her hands repeatedly
throughout the day, sometimes for 20 minutes at a time. When asked why, she says she feels
she must.
Which of the following terms most likely describes her repeated washing?
a. An obsession
b. A compulsion
c. An addiction
d. A phobia
Ans: B
Tips: Obsession =repetitive imagination and compulsion =repetitive behavior

2. You recommend she visit her doctor and Ms X, returns several weeks later with a
prescription for sertraline 50mg daily. Her family physician referred her to a psychiatrist and
she has been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. She had not been aware that such
a disorder existed, and thought her hand washing was just a bad habit. She is not sure she
wants to have her prescription filled.
Which of the following would be the best course of action?
a. Offer to put the prescription on hold in the computer
b. Encourage her to try to curb her habit without medication
c. Explain that her symptoms will likely improve over time anyway
d. Discuss the benefits versus risks of taking sertraline
Ans: D

3. Ms X decides to take the sertraline, but on follow-up six weeks later you found out that she
is considering stopping the medication because she doesnt think it has helped much.
Which of the following is correct?
a. Six weeks is not long enough to fully evaluate response
b. the dosage of sertraline should be higher since most patients do not respond to 50mg/day
c. Six weeks of sertraline 50mg/day is considered an adequate trial
d. Sertraline was not the best choice for initial pharmacotherapy
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Ans: A

4. After an adequate trial, Ms X is considered not to have responded to sertraline. Which of the
following would be the best choice of pharmacotherapy for her to begin after the sertraline is
discontinued?
a. Venlafaxine
b. Lithium
c. Fluoxetine
d. Imipramine
Ans: C
Tips: TC page 14

5-The goal of Anxiety Disorders is/are:
I Prevent depression to occur
II Prevent recurrence
III Treat comorbid conditions
(A) I only
(B) III only
(C) I and II
(D) II and III
(E) All of the above
Answer: (D)
Reference: Therapeutic Choices 5
th
edition Page 11